The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has issued 26 entrepreneurs invitations to apply under its Entrepreneur Stream.

The OINP Entrepreneur Stream is designed to attract entrepreneurs and business owners abroad to come to Canada and either start a new business or buy an existing Ontario business. The invitations were issued to candidates with scores of at least 132 through the Entrepreneur Stream

The invitations were issued for candidates with scores between 132 and 200. Only candidates with Expressions of Interest (EOI) received by the OINP between 22 November 2019 and 17 April 2020 were eligible. 

This is the second draw of its kind in 2020. After issuing 66 invitations in 2019, the province has now invited 46 entrepreneurs so far this year.

This is the fourth draw since the minimum eligibility requirements for the program underwent significant change. 

The required net worth for the proposed business within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was lowered from $1.5 million to $800,000, and outside the GTA from $800,000 to $400,000.

The minimum investment for the proposed business in the GTA was lowered from $1 million to $600,000, and outside the GTA from $500,000 to $200,000.

The required business experience of a candidate as an owner or a senior manager had also changed. It is now required that a candidate has 24 months of experience within the last 60 months. Previously, a candidate was required to have 36 months of experience within the same time frame.

These changes may attract many entrepreneurs and business owners around the globe to the prospect of moving to Ontario. The province is Canada’s leading destination of immigrants.