April 23, 2024

Review of Canada’s Business and Investment Immigration Programs – Part Two

Posted by Lijing Cao - Bellissimo Law Group PC

Canada welcomes entrepreneurs and business professionals who want to explore new opportunities. The business and investment immigration programs make it easier for these talented individuals to enter the country. Both federal and provincial/territorial authorities actively support business immigrants by offering comprehensive services to help them establish their businesses and integrate into Canadian society. This section of the article focuses on business immigration programs at the provincial and territorial levels.

Provincial/Territorial Business Immigration Programs

There are 11 participating provinces and territories in provincial nominee programs (PNP), including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Yukon. All of these provinces and territories operate their own business streams to attract experienced entrepreneurs who wish to own and manage businesses locally. The following chart outlines various business programs offered by different provinces or territories, allowing us to compare these programs side by side.

Summary of Core Selection Criteria for Provincial/Territorial Business Immigration Programs

Provinces/ Territories	Personal Net Worth	Minimum Investment	Experience
Alberta Rural Entrepreneur Stream[1]	$300,000	$100,000	1) 3 years of active business owner/manager experience, or 2) 4 years of senior manager experience within the past 10 years
British Columbia Entrepreneur – Base Stream[2]	$600,000	$200,000	1) 3 years of active business owner-manager experience within last 10 years, 2) 4 years of senior manager experience within last 10 years, or 3) A combination of at least one year of active business owner-manager experience and at least 2 years of senior manager experience within last 10 years
Manitoba Entrepreneur Pathway[3]	$500,000	Winnipeg Metropolitan Region: $250,000 Outside of Winnipeg Metropolitan Region: $150,000	1) 3 years of active business owner experience in the past 5 years, or 2) 3 years of senior management experience in the past 5 years
New Brunswick Business Immigration Stream[4]	$500,000	$150,000	1) business owner for at least 3 out of the last 5 years, or 2) senior manager in 3 out of the last 5 years
Nova Scotia Entrepreneur Stream[5]	$600,000 Outside Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM): $400,000	$150,000 Outside HRM: $100,000	1) 3 years of managing and business ownership experience, or 2) over 5 years of experience in a senior business management role
Northwest Territories Business Stream	Within Yellowknife: $500,000 Outside Yellowknife: $250,000	Within Yellowknife: $200,000 Outside Yellowknife: $100,000	Relevant experience to implement the business plan
Ontario Entrepreneur Stream[6]			Effective 4 December 2023, Ontario suspended receiving applications to the Entrepreneur Stream.
Prince Edward Island Work Permit Stream	$600,000	N/A	Management skills and past employment or business ownership experience
Quebec Investor Program[7]	$2,000,000	$1,200,000	2 years of management experience
Saskatchewan Entrepreneur Category[8]	$500,000	Regina and Saskatoon: $300,000 All other Saskatchewan communities: $200,000	3 years of business management or entrepreneurial experience in the past 10 years
Yukon Business Nominee Program[9]	$500,000	$300,000	3 years of entrepreneurial or business management experience & 5 years of work experience

Provinces/ Territories	Education	Language	Job Creation
Alberta Rural Entrepreneur Stream	High school	CLB 4	New businesses: 1 full-time job Business succession: not required
British Columbia Entrepreneur – Base Stream	1) Post-secondary credential, or 2) active business owner-manager experience with 100% ownership of business for at least 3 of the past 5 years	CLB 4	At least 1 full-time equivalent job
Manitoba Entrepreneur Pathway	High school	CLB 5	At least 1 job
New Brunswick Entrepreneurial Stream	Secondary (high school) education	CLB 5	At least 1 full-time job
Nova Scotia Entrepreneur Stream	High school	CLB 5	At least 1 full-time equivalent job
Northwest Territories Business Stream	Relevant education to implement the business plan	CLB 4	Within Yellowknife: 1 full-time employee and 1 part-time employee Outside Yellowknife: 1 full-time or 2 part-time employees
Ontario Entrepreneur Stream			Effective 4 December 2023, Ontario suspended receiving applications to the Entrepreneur Stream.
Prince Edward Island Work Permit Stream	Secondary school	CLB 4	N/A
Quebec Investor Program	Secondary school	Spoken French – Level 7	N/A
Saskatchewan Entrepreneur Category	N/A	CLB 5	2 employment opportunities
Yukon Business Nominee Program	High school	N/A	N/A

The Quebec Investor Program is currently the only passive investment-based immigration program in Canada. Otherwise, the selection criteria for provincial nominees under the business streams are similar: they require high personal net worth, investment commitment, and prior business management or entrepreneurial experience. The expectation is that business immigrants will own and actively manage a business in the province or territory.

Compared to other economic programs (such as Federal Skilled Workers and the Canadian Experience Class), business streams typically impose lower language proficiency and education requirements. Selected applicants would first sign a performance agreement and be issued work permits for their entry into the province or territory to set up or take over the business there. If they fulfill all the conditions of the performance agreement, they receive a provincial nomination to apply for permanent residence.

Conclusion

In the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan, the target for admitting individuals to the federal business class (including start-up visa and self-employed person programs) is between 3,500 and 7,000.[10] Despite significant interest from overseas, the Canadian government intends to maintain a relatively small scale of federal business class immigrants.

Due to the small scale of business programs, an increasing number of entrepreneurs and business owners are immigrating to Canada directly through the Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSW). Some may initially enter Canada under an LMIA-exempt or LMIA-based work permit and subsequently apply for the Federal Skilled Worker Class or the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Compared to the business streams, these applicants must meet higher education and language requirements for the FSW and CEC. Repurposing applicants who are entrepreneurs and business owners into the FSW and CEC could be somewhat effective in addressing the challenges of the existing business programs.

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