[ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS ENTITY IN CANADA] 90
A “cultural business” is defined by Section 14.1 of the Investment Canada Act as the publication, distribution and sale of books, magazines, periodicals or newspapers in print or machine readable form (other than merely printing or typesetting them); the production, distribution, sale or exhibition of film or video recordings, audio or video music recordings, music in print or machine readable form or radio communication in which the transmissions are intended for the general public; and radio, television and cable television broadcasting undertakings, satellite programming and broadcast network services. In all such cases, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry conducts a mandatory pre- closing net benefit review, which considers a range of statutory factors to determine whether the investment will be of net benefit to Canada. This approval process can take several months, although the timing is typically case specific. Lastly , the government has the power to block transactions involving national security issues, as well as to review transactions involving state- owned entities. Pre-closing filing obligations will become mandatory for investments in certain sensitive sectors, even if they fall below the thresholds for mandatory net benefit review. The list of prescribed sensitive sectors to be published is expected to largely mirror those identified in the Guidelines on the National Security Review of Investments , which include, for example, businesses operating in the critical minerals supply chain or other critical infrastructure, advanced materials and manufacturing, advanced technologies (such as AI or quantum computing), military or defense technologies, and businesses that handle the sensitive personal data or information of Canadian citizens, biotechnology, and energy generation, storage and transmission.
As of August 2022, a foreign person which is not obliged to file under the Investment Canada Act national security rules may do so voluntarily to obtain regulatory certainty that the transaction will not be subsequently challenged, which the regulator has the authority to do for a period of 5 years following the closing date. Immigration The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) (Canada) permits a foreign national to apply for a work permit, if necessary, where they will be engaging in “work” in Canada. Work permits are assessed and issued under one of the following programs: 1. International Mobility Program (IMP); or 2. Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The IMP allows for foreign nationals to apply for a work permit directly to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Most IMP work permit categories are based on reciprocity and multi/bilateral agreements with other countries, such as the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement ("CUSMA"), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"), and the General Agreement on Trade in Services . The IMP is primarily for high-skilled and high-wage occupations, but also includes work permits under the “working holiday” and “young professionals” categories. Work permits issued under an IMP category are usually employer- specific, although some categories allow for open work permits, including spousal work permits and post-graduate work permits, both of which were curtailed by the IRCC in 2025. All employer-specific work permits under the IMP require an Offer of Employment through an online employer portal prior to the submission of a work permit application. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is managed by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and is based on
ILN Corporate Group – Establishing a Business Entity Series
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