What is the Investment Canada Act review threshold for a foreign buyer?

Searching for the Investment Canada Act review threshold usually turns up a dollar figure, and a figure repeated on a web page is the wrong thing to rely on. The threshold is one of several tests, and it changes, so the question is better answered from the department’s current page than from a number someone quoted last year.

Who the Act covers

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada states that all non-Canadians who acquire control of an existing Canadian business, or who establish a new one, are subject to the Act. They must submit either a notification or an application for review unless a specific exemption applies. A buyer therefore has a filing obligation even where no review is triggered.

Where the threshold fits

The department publishes net benefit review thresholds on a Thresholds page of its site and says they have been updated for 2026. Because the figure changes, read the current page and ask counsel to apply it to your buyer and your target, rather than relying on a figure copied into an article, including this one.

National security reviews ignore size

The Act also allows the government to review foreign investments of any size to ensure they are not harmful to Canada’s national security, and the department has announced updates to its guidelines on those reviews. A small business can therefore draw a review even though it is nowhere near a net benefit threshold.

Other rules a foreign buyer can meet

Competition law is separate. The Competition Bureau says notification depends on financial thresholds in the Competition Act, and that the Commissioner may review any merger regardless of size. Provinces can also limit land ownership, and Manitoba limits foreign interest in farm land. The answer on whether a foreign buyer can buy a Canadian business covers the wider picture.