Account Login
Don't have an account? Create One
When my co-founder, Jonah Chininga, and I walked into the P.E.I. immigration office to ask about a pathway for international graduates who wanted to start a business, we were told to go find a job. Policy, we were informed, would take time to implement.
That pathway still does not exist. And not everyone can afford to wait and hope.
Three of Atlantic Canada’s four provinces—Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador—have immigration streams specifically designed for international graduates who want to build a business. Nova Scotia permanently relaunched its International Graduate Entrepreneur Stream in February 2024. Newfoundland and Labrador runs one too. New Brunswick has had its Post-Graduate Entrepreneurial Stream for years. Prince Edward Island remains the only Atlantic province with nothing at all.
To qualify, a graduate must have already started or acquired a business and run it for at least a year while holding a valid Post-Graduation Work Permit. That permit, the bridge between graduation and legal work status, now requires college graduates to have studied in fields tied to labour shortages. For graduates in business, the arts, or social services, well-represented at every Atlantic institution, that bridge has been quietly removed.
Continue reading this story: click below to login/subscribe
Login or SubscribeComment policy
Comments are moderated to ensure thoughtful and respectful conversations. First and last names will appear with each submission; anonymous comments and pseudonyms will not be permitted.
By submitting a comment, you accept that Atlantic Business Magazine has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner it chooses. Publication of a comment does not constitute endorsement of that comment. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.