After more than a decade working with founders, one thing is clear to me: immigrant entrepreneurs don’t come to take from Canada’s economy–they come to build it. As CEO and founder of Global Startups, a Toronto-based strategic growth partner, and as a general partner at GSA Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on immigrant-led and globally diverse entrepreneurial teams, I’ve supported more than 340 startups across Canada and internationally.  Across sectors and stages, these entrepreneurs are creating jobs and driving innovation in Canada.

Immigrant founders are drawn to Canada for its inclusive, diverse business environment, and the opportunity to build stable lives for themselves and their families. While some have been established here for years, others have recently immigrated through business pathways such as the Start-Up Visa (SUV) program. Launched in 2013, the SUV was the first federal program specifically designed to attract immigrant entrepreneurs while linking permanent residency to the viability of their business. It offered a direct pathway to permanent residence for entrepreneurs with a minimum viable product, early traction, and a clear growth plan, allowing them to focus on growing their businesses without immigration uncertainty. However, the federal government’s decision to suspend the SUV as of January 1, 2026, is the latest sign of instability in Canada’s pathways for foreign founders.

Supporting these entrepreneurs is more important than ever, as Canada’s productivity and innovation continue to lag behind competitors like the United States by roughly 25 per cent in output per worker, while other countries aggressively compete for global founder talent. At a time when the country needs stronger economic growth and higher levels of immigration, programs like the SUV have the potential to attract talented immigrant founders, with more than 5,500 permanent residents admitted in 2024 alone. For example, one entrepreneur I worked with from Uruguay, supported through the SUV and Canadian accelerators, built a company generating $3.5 to $4 million in revenue, completed two acquisitions, and ultimately reached unicorn status. 

Despite these successes, the program had clear shortcomings. It was marked by long wait times, inconsistent vetting processes, and uneven accountability across designated organizations–approved business groups such as venture capital funds, angel investors, and incubators responsible for assessing applicants and coordinating with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The program’s promise as a stable pathway to business immigration depends on clear, consistent rules. Founders choose where to build based on policy certainty—not just tax rates or access to capital. When a major immigration pathway closes, entrepreneurs are left in limbo and forced to pause plans as they navigate questions about status, teams and family.

Canada now has an opportunity to treat this closure as a reset and build a more predictable, competitive system for attracting global founders. Seizing it starts with faster, clearly defined timelines. While some SUV applications were processed in as little as three months—showing what is possible—others were delayed by pandemic backlogs and months-long office closures, slow paper-based processing, and lengthy RCMP background checks that could take up to a year depending on the applicant’s country of origin. As a result, some cases stretched into several years, creating significant uncertainty for founders. These delays matter because startups move quickly: small and mid-sized tech companies can pivot every three to six months, and slow approvals risk making business plans irrelevant.

Equally important, the pathway must ensure that designated organizations apply selection criteria consistently, with clear standards for what qualifies as a viable startup and how applicants are assessed. In practice, unclear criteria and inconsistent interpretation meant the program did not always deliver on its intended promise. Many organizations required startups to be further along than the stated criteria suggested—beyond early-stage concepts or basic MVPs—and instead expected stronger evidence of market traction, such as early revenue, user growth, or validated demand.

The result was uneven selection: some organizations admitted early-stage or ideation-level applicants, while others focused only on more established companies. This led to inconsistent outcomes and, in some cases, higher rejection rates later in the process after applicants had already been endorsed by designated organizations. A redesigned program should close these gaps by clarifying eligibility criteria, improving coordination between the IRCC and designated organizations, and applying rules more consistently to reduce uncertainty for founders and investors.

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While the federal government has signalled plans for a new pilot program for “elite entrepreneurs”—a positive step forward—Canada needs a stronger federal pathway for business immigration to support fast-moving startups. Provincial Nominee Programs, which operate in all provinces and territories except Quebec and Nunavut, require entrepreneurs to first establish and operate a business on a work permit before becoming eligible for permanent residence under regionally focused streams. By contrast, the SUV allows founders to begin building their businesses upon arrival. This gap underscores the need for a more consistent federal approach that enables founders to move faster.

Ultimately, Canada’s ability to grow its innovation economy depends on the policy choices it makes today. By designing founder immigration programs that are strategic, predictable, and aligned with the country’s economic priorities, the country can continue to attract immigrant business owners. These entrepreneurs can drive growth, fuel innovation, and keep Canada competitive on the global stage.

– As told to Survi Sahni