Provincial Entrepreneur Immigration Programs

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) operates four entrepreneur streams. Alberta’s total 2026 allocation across all streams rose to 6,603 nominations after IRCC provided an additional 200 in August 2026. See our Alberta immigration page.

On August 12, 2026 the AAIP rewrote the eligibility pages for its Rural Entrepreneur, Graduate Entrepreneur and Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur streams to explain how it assesses “economic establishment”. The criteria themselves did not change, but the province now spells out that it will look at your Alberta business presence and day-to-day management, business viability, expected economic contribution, whether proposed hiring and salaries are realistic for the scale of the business, your capacity to run it, and your regulatory readiness. Existing EOIs do not need to be resubmitted.

Rural Entrepreneur Stream

The flagship stream, for entrepreneurs starting or buying a business in a community of fewer than 100,000 people outside the Calgary and Edmonton census metropolitan areas.

• Net worth of at least $300,000 and an investment of at least $100,000 from the applicant’s own or a spouse’s equity.
• Three years’ experience as an active business owner-manager, or four years as a senior manager, within the past ten years.
• At least 51 per cent ownership of a new business, or 100 per cent for a business succession.
• At least one full-time job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, excluding relatives (not required for a succession).
• CLB or NCLC 4 in all four abilities, and at least a Canadian-equivalent high school credential supported by an Educational Credential Assessment.
• A community support letter from a participating rural community, obtained after an exploratory visit.

Selection is by points, so meeting the minimums is rarely enough. See our page on the Alberta Rural Entrepreneur Stream.

Graduate Entrepreneur, Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur and Farm Streams

• Graduate Entrepreneur Stream, for international graduates of Alberta post-secondary institutions who want to establish or operate an Alberta business.
• Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream, for graduates of qualifying institutions outside Canada launching an innovative start-up in Alberta (formerly the Foreign Graduate Start-Up Visa Stream).
• Farm Stream, for applicants with farm management experience and the financial resources to buy or develop a farming business in Alberta.

British Columbia runs the most active entrepreneur program in the country and held Entrepreneur Immigration draws roughly monthly through 2026. Volumes are small: Base-stream rounds typically invited between 7 and 15 candidates, with minimum scores between 115 and 121, and the Regional stream usually fewer than five. The October 20, 2026 draw invited 10 Base-stream candidates at a minimum score of 118. See our page on British Columbia business immigration.

Entrepreneur Immigration – Base Stream

• Personal net worth of at least $600,000, verified by a designated third party.
• Investment of at least $200,000 in a new or acquired business anywhere in B.C.
• At least 51 per cent ownership, and creation of at least one full-time job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• CLB 4 in each of the four abilities in English or French, by the time of nomination.
• Business and management experience.

Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Stream

For businesses in participating communities outside the Metro Vancouver Regional District. Thresholds are roughly half those of the Base stream: net worth of at least $300,000 and investment of at least $100,000, with the same ownership, job and language requirements. You must contact a participating community, complete an exploratory visit and obtain a community referral before registering.

Entrepreneur Immigration – Strategic Projects

Not an individual route. It allows a foreign-controlled company establishing an operation in B.C. to bring in key managerial, professional or technical staff, subject to equity investment and job creation requirements.

The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program Business Investor Stream has an Entrepreneur Pathway for applicants starting, buying or buying into a Manitoba business, and a Farm Investor Pathway for those establishing a farm in rural Manitoba. Both use the work-permit-first model. See our Manitoba immigration page.

• Net worth of at least $500,000.
• Investment of at least $250,000 in the Manitoba Capital Region, or $150,000 outside it.
• Three years of full-time experience in the past five as an active business owner or in senior management.
• CLB 5 in English or French, and a Canadian-equivalent high school credential.
• A business research visit to Manitoba before applying.

Manitoba has not been running regular Business Investor Stream draws, so confirm the current intake mechanism with the province before starting.

The New Brunswick Business Immigration Stream is for experienced business people ready to establish and actively manage a business in the province. Selection is by EOI and invitation, depending on labour market conditions and the province’s allocation. See our New Brunswick immigration page.

• Aged 19 to 59, with a Canadian-equivalent high school diploma or better.
• Personal net worth of at least $500,000, or $300,000 for farming applicants.
• Investment of at least $150,000, with at least one-third ownership.
• Two years of business ownership or senior management experience in the past five years.
• CLB 4 in all four abilities.

Nomination follows a period of operating the business and meeting the performance agreement.

Newfoundland and Labrador runs an International Entrepreneur Category and an International Graduate Entrepreneur Category for graduates of Memorial University or College of the North Atlantic. Both use a work-permit-first model. Obtain current net worth and investment minimums directly from the provincial immigration office. See our Newfoundland immigration page.

The Northwest Territories Nominee Program Business Stream requires an investment of at least $300,000 in Yellowknife or $150,000 elsewhere, net worth of at least $500,000 for a Yellowknife business or $250,000 elsewhere, and at least one-third ownership unless the investment is $1 million or more. The territory publishes intake rounds, so time your submission accordingly. See our Northwest Territories immigration page.

The Nova Scotia Nominee Program runs an Entrepreneur Stream and an International Graduate Entrepreneur Stream, both temporary-to-permanent. See our Nova Scotia immigration page.

Entrepreneur Stream

• Net worth of at least $600,000, or $400,000 for a business outside the Halifax Regional Municipality.
• Investment of at least $150,000, or $100,000 outside HRM.
• Three years of business ownership with at least one-third ownership, or more than five years in senior business management.
• CLB 5 in English or French.
• Actively manage the business for at least a year on a work permit before nomination.

International Graduate Entrepreneur Stream

For graduates of a Nova Scotia university or community college who have operated their own business in the province for a year, with at least one-third ownership.

Nova Scotia introduced NSNP application fees on September 1, 2026, including a $2,000 fee for the entrepreneur stream, payable after selection from the EOI pool. Submitting an EOI remains free.

Any guide that describes an open OINP Entrepreneur Stream is out of date. As part of a 2026 redesign of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, Ontario closed all its previous streams, including the Entrepreneur Stream. The new Ontario Workforce Priority stream, which opened for expressions of interest in August 2026, is now the only open OINP stream, and it is built around job offers rather than business investment. See our Ontario immigration page.

Ontario says further program changes are coming, but as of November 2026 it had published no replacement entrepreneur stream, criteria or intake date. Entrepreneurs targeting Ontario currently have no provincial business route open to them.

Prince Edward Island’s Business Impact Category uses a Work Permit Stream: applicants come to the Island on a work permit, operate the business for at least a year, and are nominated afterwards. Selection is through the province’s EOI system. See our Prince Edward Island immigration page.

Intake is not continuous. PEI’s published 2026 EOI draws, through October, issued no Business Work Permit invitations; invitations went to labour and Express Entry candidates instead. Net worth must be verified by one of the province’s designated verifiers. Check the province’s current status and the latest application guide before preparing anything.

Quebec selects its own economic immigrants and sits outside the Provincial Nominee Program. It runs an Entrepreneur Program with streams for innovative businesses and for business start-up or acquisition, a Self-Employed Worker Program, and an Investor Program. Quebec’s ministry pages currently state that applications can be submitted at any time.

The Quebec Investor Program is the only substantial passive-investment route left in Canada. It requires net worth of at least $2,000,000, two years of management experience in the past five years, spoken French at level 7 on the Québec scale, a five-year $1,000,000 investment guaranteed by the Quebec government and repaid without interest, and a separate $200,000 financial contribution.

French is now a hard requirement across Quebec’s business programs, and Quebec’s 2026 plan provides for only a few hundred business admissions. See our Quebec business immigration page.

Saskatchewan no longer offers a business immigration route. On March 27, 2025, the province permanently closed all Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) Entrepreneur and Farm pathways – the Entrepreneur category, the International Graduate Entrepreneur category and the Farm Owner and Operator category – as part of changes to manage a reduced federal allocation.

• No new applications are accepted.
• No new Expressions of Interest are considered.
• No further Invitations to Apply are issued.

Applications already in the SINP system continue to be processed under the rules that applied to them, so these pages remain relevant only to legacy applicants. Anyone else interested in Saskatchewan should look at the SINP’s worker streams instead. See our Saskatchewan immigration page.

• Investment of at least $300,000 in an eligible Yukon business.
• Net worth of at least $500,000.
• At least one-third ownership of the business.
• A minimum score on the Yukon Business Nominee Program assessment grid, with the business in one of Yukon’s strategic sectors and outside its ineligible industries.

See our Yukon immigration page.