Immigrant funds for economic development

A new provincial Crown corporation is hoping to attract investment money from immigrants for local economic development projects.

The Nova Scotia Strategic Opportunities Fund Inc. will be administered by a board of directors made up of deputy ministers from various government departments. The corporation will administer money distributed by the federal government under its Immigrant Investor Program. That program allows foreign investors with a net worth of at least $800,000 to invest $400,000 with the federal government in exchange for a promise to come to Canada.

Five other jurisdictions – British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador – are participating in the program.
The Immigrant Investor Program money is divided among those provinces, which distribute it as loans of at least $1 million for economic development projects. Companies and organizations can submit proposals in areas such as export development, information technology, environmentally sustainable infrastructure, manufacturing and production.

Anybody know New Brunswick’s position on this?