Starting a Business

Exploratory Visit

New Brunswick encourages prospective immigrants, and especially business immigrants, to visit the province and explore their interests and business proposals before deciding to move here. Officials of the Department of Business New Brunswick can arrange meetings in business sectors and geographic areas of the province appropriate to the prospective immigrant's interests.

Applicants to the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program who apply based on their business experience and entrepreneurial skills must make at least one exploratory visit and must meet with a representative from the Department of Business New Brunswick regarding their business plan.

New Brunswick's business opportunities may take the form of:

Sole Proprietorship

There is no registration requirement for sole proprietorships which operate under their owner's own name. Nonetheless, in some jurisdictions an operating licence may still be required for certain types of business. If the business will operate under some other name, such as by adding "and Company" to the owner's name, a declaration must be filed in the province or territory in which the business operates. Sole proprietorships do not require audits, but adequate financial records must be kept.

Partnerships

Partnerships are governed by provincial legislation and can be registered with provincial or territorial authorities. There are two types of partnerships: general and limited. In a general partnership, all partners are treated as a unit and are subject to unlimited liability. The partners have an equal claim on capital and profits, but they are also equally responsible for any losses, unless they agree otherwise.

A limited partnership consists of both general and limited partners. One or more general partners are responsible for managing the business. One or more limited partners contribute capital, and may work for the firm, but do not participate in its management. Unlike the general counterparts, limited partners are not exposed to unlimited liability, unless they take part in control of the business.

Joint Ventures

A joint venture is an association of two or more business entities for the purpose of carrying on a single enterprise or specific venture. Joint ventures take several forms. They can be set up as a separate corporation, a general or limited partnership, or the partners can simply jointly own business assets. Joint ventures between Canadian and foreign companies are an excellent vehicle for combining the strengths of the participating firms, while reducing the risk of taking on new markets.

Franchises

A franchise is a business relationship where a franchisee contracts for the right to sell proprietary products using business styles and methods developed by the franchisor. All franchises must comply with federal competition and trademark legislation as well as any provincial legislation governing businesses generally. New Brunswick does not have specific legislation dealing with franchising.

Please visit Service New Brunswick for more details and business registration forms.

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Starting a Business

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