Read the general investor planning overview
Hypothetical example: a Grand Bay-Westfield couple plan to buy a U.S. propane and heating-fuel delivery business. Part of the price would come from a margin loan against their non-registered investment portfolio and part from a registered savings withdrawal. Borrowed funds can count toward a treaty investment when the investor is personally liable and the loan is not secured by the assets of the business being purchased. A margin loan against their own portfolio generally fits that description, while a loan secured on the acquired trucks and tanks generally does not.
Ask what secures the loan, not where the money came from
Hypothetical example: a Grand Bay-Westfield couple are offered two financing structures for the same purchase price. The first is a margin loan against their own investment portfolio, for which they are personally liable and which is secured by securities they already own. The second is vendor financing secured against the delivery trucks and storage tanks being bought. The first structure ordinarily counts as the investor's own capital at risk, because the couple bear the loss personally whatever happens to the business. The second ordinarily does not, because the lender looks to the business assets rather than to the investor, so the investor has not placed that portion of the money at risk. The purchase price is identical in both cases and the immigration consequence is not.
Registered savings and the tax question that runs alongside
Hypothetical example: the same couple plan to withdraw a substantial amount from registered retirement savings to complete the purchase. For the treaty investment analysis this is straightforward: it is their own money, the source is documented by the plan statements and the withholding slip, and once committed it is at risk. The complication is Canadian, not American. A large withdrawal is taxed as income in the year it is taken and withholding is applied at source, so the amount that actually reaches the transaction is smaller than the amount withdrawn, and the marginal rate may make staging the withdrawal across tax years sensible. Get that advice before the closing date is fixed, because a shortfall discovered late is usually filled with exactly the kind of business-secured borrowing that does not count.
Document the loan as carefully as the equity
Hypothetical example: the couple close the purchase and their file states simply that part of the price was financed. That invites the question the structure was designed to answer. Include the loan agreement showing who is liable, the security documents showing what is pledged, a statement of the portfolio pledged and its value, the plan withdrawal statements and withholding slips, and the bank trail through to closing. Add the closing statement showing how the funds were applied. If the vendor is also carrying a portion, be explicit about what secures that piece and treat it separately in the calculation rather than folding everything into a single figure. The point is to let a reader reach the same conclusion the couple did, from documents, without being asked to take it on trust.
What else is on your mind?
Is there one minimum investment that guarantees E-2 eligibility?Is holding money or owning an asset enough for E-2?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.