Provincial Entrepreneur Streams in Canada: 2026 Comparison

Provincial entrepreneur streams are part of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Each province or territory designs its own business stream under its agreement with the federal government, chooses candidates, and nominates those who meet its conditions. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) then decides the permanent residence application.

Most streams follow the same pattern. You are not nominated at the start. The province first approves your business proposal and signs a performance agreement with you. You then come to Canada on a work permit, start or buy the business and run it day to day. Only after you meet the agreement and report your results does the province decide whether to nominate you.

Lowest stated net worth (Northwest Territories, outside Yellowknife)

$250,000

Highest stated net worth (British Columbia Base, Nova Scotia in Halifax, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador)

$600,000

These streams are for people who will actively manage the business. Passive investments do not qualify in British Columbia or Yukon, for example, and IRCC's instructions note that, under the federal-provincial agreements, self-employed people are not eligible for nomination as business candidates.

Where the table says no minimum is stated, or to see the province's current criteria, the province's main stream page did not state that figure when we checked. Most provinces also ask for a verified net worth report from an approved accounting firm, settlement funds and a business plan.

Three provinces have entrepreneur streams for international students who graduated locally. Their main stream pages do not list the large net worth minimums of the general streams; they focus on a business you own and run locally.

Most provinces use an expression of interest. You create a profile with your experience, net worth, language results, education and business idea, and the province scores it on a points grid. British Columbia scores human capital factors and the commercial viability and economic benefits of your proposal; its staff score the business concept separately. New Brunswick and Yukon require at least 65 points.

Volumes are small and change from draw to draw, so check the province's own draw or processing page for current numbers. On November 4, 2026: British Columbia's latest Entrepreneur Immigration draw was on October 20, 2026; Prince Edward Island had issued no business invitations in its 2026 draws up to October 16, 2026; Manitoba was not holding Business Investor Stream draws while it uses an interim paper process; and the Northwest Territories runs its Business Stream on a first-come, first-served basis rather than through draws.

After an invitation, you usually have a fixed time to submit a full application, for example four months in British Columbia, with a business plan and a net worth and source of funds report. Some provinces interview you, and some require an exploratory visit: Newfoundland and Labrador requires one if you apply from outside the province, the Northwest Territories requires one before it invites you, British Columbia's regional stream requires one in the community, and in Alberta's rural stream the community support letter follows an exploratory visit.

1. 1

   Confirm the stream is open

   Check the province's official page on the day you apply. Status, minimums and fees change often, and some streams stop inviting without formally closing.

2. 2

   Research and visit

   Study the market and the community. Where a visit or community referral is required, arrange it before you submit your profile.

3. 3

   Submit an expression of interest

   Enter accurate, verifiable information. Provinces compare your profile with your later application, and differences can lead to refusal.

4. 4

   Apply after an invitation

   Send the complete application with your business plan, a net worth verification from an approved firm and proof of how you accumulated your funds, and pay the provincial fee.

5. 5

   Sign the performance agreement

   If approved, you sign an agreement setting your investment, jobs and management duties, and receive a work permit support letter. British Columbia gives you 90 days to apply for the work permit.

6. 6

   Apply for a C60 work permit

   Apply to IRCC with the province's support letter, an offer of employment to yourself in IRCC's Employer Portal and the employer compliance fee.

7. 7

   Arrive and run the business

   Report your arrival, invest, hire and manage the business day to day. Keep records of spending, hiring and sales.

8. 8

   Request nomination

   Submit your final report when the agreement allows: for example 18 to 20 months after arrival in British Columbia, or after six months of operations in New Brunswick.

9. 9

   Apply for permanent residence

   With a nomination, apply to IRCC under the Provincial Nominee Class. IRCC checks medical, criminal and security admissibility before deciding.

Budget also for net worth verification by an approved accounting firm, language tests, credential assessments, translations and any exploratory visit. Provinces publish their own processing times; the IRCC times below cover the work permit and the final permanent residence application.

• Net worth or source of funds not verified. Provinces use approved accounting firms to check your assets and how you accumulated them; gifts, loans or unexplained deposits often fail.
• Business plan not viable or not eligible. Many provinces list ineligible businesses, such as passive investments, home-based businesses and some real estate or brokerage activities in British Columbia, or retail, restaurants and most professional services in Yukon.
• Profile and application do not match. Prince Edward Island, for example, warns that files found to contain misrepresentation may be barred from applying for 2 years.
• Experience does not meet the stream's definition, for example ownership below the required share or management without supervising staff.
• Performance agreement not met. If you do not invest the agreed amount, create the jobs or manage the business actively within the time allowed, the province can refuse to nominate you.
• Federal refusal after nomination. IRCC can still refuse permanent residence for inadmissibility, such as medical, criminal or misrepresentation grounds (IRPA section 40).

Once the province issues your nomination certificate, you apply to IRCC for permanent residence as a provincial nominee. If your work permit is ending, IRCC's instructions allow a nominated entrepreneur to get a provincial nominee work permit (code T13) with the nomination and a support letter from the province.

Keep your status valid and keep running the business as agreed until you become a permanent resident. Some provinces ask you to accept conditions before they nominate you. British Columbia, for example, asks you to sign a Conditions of Nomination Declaration before it issues the nomination.

To read each province's full rules, see its page in the Provincial Nominee Program section of this site.