An Open Letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney: Canada Should Compete for the World’s Investors

An Open Letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney: Canada Should Compete for the World’s Investors

Jean Francois Harvey

Harvey Law Group

Open letter to Canada’s Prime Minister proposing an investor immigration programme to attract investment and support delayed Start-Up Visa applicants.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA , CANADA, October 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Dear Prime Minister Carney,
For 34 years, I have worked with entrepreneurs and investors looking for somewhere to invest, build businesses and establish their families. Today, our firm works with more than 30 residence and citizenship by investment programmes around the world.

Canada should be one of the strongest destinations for these investors. It has political and economic stability, respected schools and universities, strong institutions, business opportunities and a high quality of life.

Yet Canada is offering fewer routes for them just as it is looking for more investment, new markets and greater economic independence from the United States.

Other countries are moving in the opposite direction.
The United States has introduced its Gold Card. New Zealand continues to attract international investors through its Active Investor Plus Visa. Portugal and Greece maintain residence-by-investment routes. Most recently, Argentina announced plans to begin accepting applications under a new Citizenship by Investment Programme, although the legal framework remains subject to challenge and the final form of the programme is not yet settled.

The point is not that Canada should copy any of these countries. It is that governments continue to see internationally mobile entrepreneurs and investors as people worth competing for, and Canada should too.

Canada has been here before. The former Immigrant Investor Program was terminated in 2014 after legitimate concerns about whether its economic benefits justified the model. Applicants invested CAD 800,000 for five years, after which the money was returned without interest.

There were also broader concerns around housing, foreign capital and money laundering.

Those concerns are important and should not be dismissed. However, Canada’s housing market is not facing the same problems across every segment. Affordability and housing supply remain serious concerns for many Canadians, while the luxury markets in Toronto and Vancouver have seen weaker demand and more difficult conditions for sellers.

A well-designed investor programme would not need to put more pressure on the parts of the housing market where Canadians are already struggling. Instead, it could direct applicants’ money towards productive investment in Canada, while also attracting families who are able to buy in parts of the market where demand has slowed.

The problems with the previous programme do not mean Canada should give up on investor immigration. They show that a new programme needs to be designed better.

Canada could create a new federal programme requiring a CAD 1 million qualifying investment, with a target of around 1,000 principal applicants each year. At that level, the programme could bring in approximately CAD 1 billion of international capital annually without making a significant difference to Canada’s overall immigration numbers.

Even after including immediate family members, the numbers would remain relatively small. If 1,000 principal applicants resulted in around 4,000 new permanent residents, they would represent only about 1% of Canada’s current annual permanent resident target.

There is also now a clearer potential for that capital.

The government has established the Canada Strong Fund to invest in Canadian projects and companies. A new investor immigration programme could require qualifying investments to be placed into that fund.

The principle should be simple: if someone is required to invest in Canada as part of their application for permanent residence, that investment should deliver a clear economic benefit to the country.

The benefits would extend beyond the initial capital. International investors bring businesses, customers, suppliers and commercial networks. Since Canada is looking to develop new markets and reduce its dependence on the United States, those relationships have value.

The government could set the eligibility, security and admissibility rules, while qualified third-party firms carry out specialist checks on applicants’ backgrounds, source of wealth and source of funds. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada would still make the final decision on each application, but it would not need to handle every part of the verification process itself.

Applicants would also be subject to the same residency obligations as other Canadian permanent residents. The programme would offer no special exemption from the normal obligations of permanent residence.

There is also an existing group of entrepreneurs who could provide a natural starting point for a new programme.
Canada could initially give priority to qualifying Start-Up Visa (SUV) applicants already in the country who are willing and able to make the required investment. Many have already secured support from a designated venture capital fund, angel investor group or business incubator, and some are already

building their businesses in Canada while they wait for permanent residence.
Applicants under the SUV program now have to wait for 12 years or more, according to the latest information provided by your government. Starting with these applicants would allow Canada to begin with entrepreneurs who have already demonstrated their commitment to the country.

Prime Minister, Canada does not need to recreate the investor programme that was abolished in 2014. It has an opportunity to design a better and simpler one.

As Canada is actively looking for new investment, stronger international business links and new sources of economic growth, I believe a modern investor immigration programme deserves serious consideration.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss how such a programme could be structured to deliver genuine economic value for Canada while maintaining the standards Canadians expect from their immigration system.

Jean François Harvey
Harvey Law Group
7864206230 ext.
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