There is a competition among Canadian provinces to attract immigrants with entrepreneurial and business management skills. To attract these individuals, the provinces have set their own criteria for the entrepreneur categories of their provincial nomination programs.

A nomination certificate from any province leads to a Canadian permanent resident visa, absent health and security issues. Individuals with business management experience are seen as being able to contribute to provincial economic and social goals and stimulate local economies by creating jobs for Canadians.

There are currently 7 provinces and 2 territories willing to nominate qualified managers from around the world for Canadian permanent residence. Applicants are required to have the intent and ability to move to the province and set up a new business or purchase or acquire a share of an existing business.

As compared to the Federal Entrepreneur program, there are two main advantages to applying for business immigration under the provincial nomination programs:

1) the visa processing times are considerably faster, and
2) permanent resident visas issued under the provincial nomination programs are not conditional upon meeting business performance criteria and are issued upon investment.

Click here to find a summary of the requirements for the provincial business nomination programs in a table for easy comparison and contrast. This table will allow you to find the program that best suits your circumstances.