The Federal Government is going to launch consultations to develop a startup visa to attract entrepreneurs.

It is important to understand what this means in the context of the different types of entrepreneurs. Details on this startup visa are still scarce but it seems that the government will be looking for scalable startup entrepreneurs rather than the more common small business entrepreneurs that are currently accommodated under existing entrepreneurship programs.

Entrepreneurs under this program will likely need to arrange venture capital investment before immigrating. This will mean that it will only apply to entrepreneurs in industries that are capable of exponential growth, such as software.

This effort is part of a competition with other countries for top entrepreneurial talent. The United States has been making efforts towards a startup visa for some time. Currently, it appears that the bill is stalled in the legislative process.

This leaves Canada with an opportunity to gain an edge in the competition for these talented entrepreneurs. Hopefully the consultative process will move quickly and we can put a sensible policy in place to attract these entrepreneurs.