Can I sell the business to one child and leave the others out entirely?

Yes. As the owner, you're generally free to decide who buys your shares or business assets, and there's no legal requirement to include all your children in a business sale or to treat them equally in how the business itself is passed on. Ontario law doesn't require equal treatment of children in lifetime transactions the way it can affect an estate after death in certain limited circumstances.

Doing this well usually means more than just signing a purchase agreement, though. Clear, contemporaneous documentation of why this structure was chosen, a proper valuation, and independent legal advice for the purchasing child all help show the transaction was a genuine sale rather than something that could later be reframed as unfair. If you also intend to treat the other children fairly through other means — other assets, cash, or your estate plan — coordinate that separately, since a lifetime business sale to one child doesn't automatically account for the others. A Treadstone business lawyer can help structure both pieces together.