Ontario to Accept 100 Business Immigrants

December 14, 2021, Waterloo — Ontario is recruiting 100 international entrepreneurs to start or grow businesses in regions outside of the Greater Toronto Area that have been hit hard by pandemic job losses through the Entrepreneur Stream of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).

This initiative will create more local jobs in a variety of sectors including information technology, life sciences, and tourism while bringing new investments to cities and towns often overlooked by entrepreneurs.

Through this two-year project, international entrepreneurs can apply as business immigrants by purchasing or starting new companies, hiring local workers and driving economic growth in their new communities.

“As we continue to build back better, we want people across Ontario – no matter where they live – to find rewarding, well-paying careers in their communities,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “Our government is working for workers and spreading the jobs and opportunities that entrepreneurs bring to every corner of our province, not just our big cities.”

Each business immigrant who is selected will be required to invest a minimum of $200,000 into their business – generating at least $20 million for Ontario’s economy. The project will prioritize applications from entrepreneurs looking to start or grow their business outside of the GTA, especially in communities hit hard by job losses resulting from COVID-19.

In addition to entrepreneurs, Minister McNaughton has called on the federal government to double Ontario’s allocation of immigrants in 2022 to better fill critical labour shortages and drive economic growth.