Immigrants coming to P.E.I. under business investment programs should be allowed to invest in a broader range of companies, says the provincial innovation minister.

Richard Brown would like to see the craft industry benefit from the program. (CBC)

Currently, the federal government restricts by sector the type of businesses that qualify for the immigrant partner section of the Provincial Nominee Program, which allows would-be immigrants to put up money for a new or existing P.E.I. business and move to Canada if they pass health and security checks.

Innovation Minister Richard Brown would like to see the sector restrictions change.

"That's one of the reasons I'm looking at the new program and seeing how I can work with the federal government in order to expand the program into the different sectors in Prince Edward Island," said Brown.

"I would love to put the craft industry under the new program. If the program's not working, we're going to renegotiate with the federal government so the craftspeople can be included in the program."

Brown also hopes to tap into the federal immigrant investor fund to get access to low-interest loans that could be used to help industries that aren't currently included in the program.

The federal government made big changes to the program in September, raising the amount of money potential immigrants have to put up from $200,000 to $1 million or a one-third stake in a company. Brown is concerned that the changes price P.E.I. out of the market for investors and wants to see the cost lowered again.

This year, more than 2,000 potential immigrants applied to come to P.E.I. through the program. That's up from just a few hundred a year since the program started in 2001. The increase in applications came with controversy. Questions were raised about the quality of the companies approved for investment and the involvement of government MLAs in the program.