Yes, provided Canadian citizens own at least fifty percent of the enterprise and the couple actually develop and direct it. A seller holding forty percent with a consulting role is workable; a seller retaining operational control through the shareholder agreement is not.
Read the shareholder agreement for who really decides
Nationality is measured by ownership: the enterprise is Canadian for treaty purposes if Canadian nationals hold at least half of it, so a sixty-forty split with the seller satisfies that element. The second element is control. The investors must have the ability to develop and direct the business, which is ordinarily shown by majority ownership or by operational control through a managerial position and corporate devices.
A shareholder agreement that gives the seller a veto over hiring, pricing or equipment purchases undermines that showing even if the couple hold sixty percent. Negotiate the seller’s role as a paid consultant with defined tasks rather than a director with reserved powers. The remaining conditions — irrevocable commitment of substantial funds, a real and non-marginal operation, and the investors’ own Canadian citizenship shown by passports — must still be met on their own evidence.
If one spouse is not a citizen, the ownership calculation counts only the citizen’s shares. A first review produces a commitment ledger and an operations checklist, showing which payments are exposed to loss and which permits remain outstanding. Hypothetical example: someone holding Canadian citizenship proposes to acquire a compact ice-making plant and has paid only a refundable reservation fee.
The escrow terms, not the purchaser’s intention, settle whether funds are committed. A refundable reservation fee is insufficient; use a binding agreement and funded escrow that releases on visa issuance and returns the money only if that condition fails.