Do I need to register a business?
Usually not, to begin with.
If you work under your own legal name — “Jordan Ellery” rather than “Ellery Lawn Care” — Ontario does not generally require you to register a business name. Registration becomes relevant once you operate under a name that is not your own. Age requirements and the process itself are set by ServiceOntario under the Business Names Act, and that is the place to confirm what applies to you before you register anything.
ServiceOntario — registering a business name
Needs checking before this is indexed: Confirm the current minimum age to register a business name in Ontario, and whether a parent must register on a minor's behalf.
Do I have to pay taxes on what I earn?
The income is taxable. Most students owe nothing.
Money you make from your own business is self-employment income in Canada, and there is no age exemption — the Canada Revenue Agency treats a 14-year-old's earnings the same way it treats an adult's. In practice most students earn far below the basic personal amount and end up owing no federal income tax, but that is an outcome of the numbers, not a rule about age. Keep a record of what you were paid and what you spent from the first job; you cannot reconstruct it later.
Canada Revenue Agency — business and self-employment income
Needs checking before this is indexed: Confirm the current basic personal amount and whether a minor with only self-employment income is required to file.
Can I sign a contract at 15?
You can sign one. It may not bind you the way it binds an adult.
This is the real legal difference between you and an adult in business, and it cuts both ways. Under Ontario law a contract entered into by a minor is generally not enforceable against them in the same way, with exceptions for necessaries and for contracts that are clearly to the minor's benefit. That protects you — and it is also why a company will often want a parent or guardian to sign anything substantial, because they need the agreement to actually hold. For neighbourhood work paid on the day, none of this comes up.
Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
Needs checking before this is indexed: Have this paragraph read by someone legally qualified before indexing. The general principle is sound; the phrasing of the exceptions should be checked.
How do I actually get paid?
Cash, or a youth account with a parent.
Cash is simplest for small jobs and needs no setup at all. For e-transfer you need a bank account with online banking, and the age at which you can open one in your own name is set by each bank, not by law — many Canadian banks offer youth accounts well before 18, usually with a parent as joint holder. If money goes into a parent's account instead, keep a written record of what is yours from day one, so it is never a conversation later.
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — opening a bank account
Needs checking before this is indexed: Confirm typical minimum ages for youth accounts and e-transfer at the major Canadian banks.
Can I sell food I made at home?
This is the one with real rules. Ask first.
Food is regulated differently from every other idea on this site, and the decisions are made locally: your public health unit governs where food for sale may be prepared, and home kitchens are restricted in ways that vary by what you are making and where you are selling it. Some low-risk foods at farmers' markets are treated differently from the same food sold elsewhere. Call your local public health unit and describe exactly what you want to make and where you want to sell it, before you spend anything.
Ontario public health units
Needs checking before this is indexed: Confirm the current treatment of home-prepared low-risk foods and farmers' market exemptions before indexing.
Is this different from getting a job?
Yes. Employment rules are about employers.
Ontario's rules about minimum ages for work set out when an employer may hire someone into a particular kind of workplace. They govern employment. Mowing a neighbour's lawn for money is not employment — you are not their employee — so those age thresholds are not what determines whether you can do it. Health and safety still matters enormously, and some work is genuinely unsuitable at some ages regardless of what any rule says.
Ontario — minimum age to work
Needs checking before this is indexed: Confirm this framing with the current Employment Standards Act guide, particularly around work experience and volunteering.