Ontario entrepreneurship project expected to immigrants start and grow businesses

Waterloo, Ont. – 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.

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, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development said in a news release.

International entrepreneurs will be able to purchase or start new companies, hire local workers and drive economic growth in their new communities.

Each entrepreneur chosen 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 Greater Toronto Area, especially in communities hit hard by job losses resulting from COVID-19.

Although the Entrepreneur Stream of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program was initially established in 2015, only two nominations have been made to date. To improve this program, this project will better support entrepreneurs that apply and help connect them with business opportunities that best fit them.

In 2021, more than 100,000 immigrants have been granted permanent residency status by the federal government. Only 8,600 were nominated through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. Minister Monty McNaughton has called on the federal government to double Ontario’s allocation in 2022.