As Canadians search for ways to
grow our economy
in the face of a
global trade war
, our
political leaders
should take another look at one
failed federal policy
that’s just waiting to be dusted off and refitted for today’s global realities.
The
Startup Visa Program
(SuV) was introduced by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives in 2013 to attract successful, affluent
foreign entrepreneurs
to Canada. Unlike many initiatives out of Ottawa, the SuV was designed to be world-class from the start.
Based on a successful model developed in Chile in 2010, the visa offered qualifying entrepreneurs a path to permanent residency and professional management support from existing organizations such as accelerators and incubators.
Canada is a nation of immigrants, and newcomers have always been entrepreneurial; foreign-born Canadians start businesses at a rate nearly 50 per cent higher than those born in Canada. Immigrant entrepreneurs create more jobs, export more goods and services, develop more intellectual property and invest more in R&D.
The SuV aimed to make Canada more competitive by attracting experienced, ambitious business leaders ready to launch successful, scalable businesses.
But the program has been ground down by bureaucracy, uncertainty, absurdly long processing times (currently four years) and rampant abuse. The program attracted many non-entrepreneurs who were solely interested in immigrating to Canada, often aided by dubious professional sponsors who were only in it for the generous fees.
Under fire for having invited too many immigrants to Canada, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in 2024 reduced the SuV pipeline to a trickle. To address the backlog, the government slashed the number of applicants from 6,000 per year to 2,000 for 2025 and to just 1,000 in 2026 and 2027.
It also limited the adviser organizations, known as “designated entities,” to just 10 applicant groups a year, disrespecting the competent, well-organized accelerators and other organizations that had been growing their capacity to help guide these entrepreneurs.
As active participants in the startup ecosystem, we believe the government lost sight of what’s important. It cut the SuV when it should have been fixing it and expanding it.
Ottawa’s target market — mobile business talent with the capital and energy needed to cross oceans and start businesses — represents a rare breed, much in demand around the world. Ottawa has cut back its SuV program, but other countries, from Estonia, Finland and Sweden to Singapore and Japan, are doubling down.
We have seen many qualified applicants reluctantly change their minds about applying to Canada, put off by long waitlists and the reduced intake. Other countries will be delighted to welcome these entrepreneurs, their families and their capital.
In the United States, President Donald Trump is promoting a “Gold Card” that would allow any economic migrant with US$5 million to buy a pathway to citizenship. Even he knows that experienced, affluent immigrants are a scarce, valuable resource.
The turmoil in Washington has made it clear that Canada needs to build more commercial relationships in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. What better way than by increasing our attractiveness to migrating globetrotters with capital and hustle?
Canada needs to jump back into the hunt for startup entrepreneurs — elbows up. The next government must commit to tightening up the SuV while also giving it more resources to process applicants with the speed and respect they deserve.
No matter which party wins the election, the new government should start with an official review of the SuV. Let’s identify what works, eliminate bad-faith actors and get things moving again. To ensure we again attract the best and brightest, we encourage the business community, entrepreneurs, investors and immigration experts to join the conversation.
Our experience suggests one powerful way to improve and expand the program: We should welcome not just experienced entrepreneurs, but investors as well.
Many successful professionals would be happy to invest in
Canadian businesses
, helping to relieve our shortage of early-stage capital needed to help existing businesses modernize and expand.
Most of these investors
made their money by starting businesses, but they don’t want to go through the startup grind again. The experience and resources of these veteran entrepreneurs would be better directed to established businesses rather than risky startups contrived for immigration purposes.
By better understanding and supporting the needs of immigrant entrepreneurs and investors, Canada can regain its status as a country of choice. We can build a more robust startup ecosystem even as we provide more resources to support existing businesses.
In this way, affluent newcomers could help us solve one more problem. A recent Bank of Nova Scotia report said nearly one-third of business owners in Canada plan to sell their business by 2030. Sadly, most don’t have a succession plan in place or a strategy to innovate and grow their companies.
By embracing innovation and welcoming more types of immigrant entrepreneurs, we can create stronger startups and a new supply of visionary owners (and capital) to lead our legacy businesses with new ideas and energy.
Now is the time for confidence and collaboration. Let’s learn our lesson and march forward with eager business partners from around the world.
Saeed Zeinali is a Toronto-based entrepreneur who runs NextStars, a multinational advisory platform for entrepreneurs. Rick Spence is the former editor and publisher of Profit, host of the Startup Canada Podcast and an adviser to NextStars.
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Re-engineering the Startup Visa: Canada’s economic challenges require more global entrepreneurs and investors
2025-04-21 15:55:50
