CRA indicated that a website cannot be a permanent establishment under Article V of the Canada-U.S. Convention because a website is intangible - however, the server that provides the website can be a physical location if it is fixed in place and business is carried on through that server. CRA stated:
In summary, a non-resident who presents a web site to its Canadian customers may be considered to carry on business in Canada through a [permanent establishment] where all of the following conditions are met:
- the host server is located in Canada,
- the business is being carried on, wholly or in part, through the operation of the web site on that server,
- the host server is at the non-resident's disposal,
- the host server is more or less permanently linked to a geographical location in Canada, and
- the web site is hosted by the particular computer server on more than merely a temporary or tentative basis.
CRA also noted that if a location is solely dedicated to advertising, then pursuant to Art. 5(6)(e) it is not a physical location.