In US dollars. The thresholds are US$1,050,000, or US$800,000 for a targeted employment area or infrastructure project, and a Canadian-dollar equivalent calculated at a planning rate is not the measure. If conversion delivers less than the required figure, the shortfall is a capital problem, not a rounding difference.
Working backwards from the figure that must arrive
Suppose the budget reads CAD 1,100,000 against a US$800,000 obligation. Whether that works depends entirely on the rate and fees at settlement, so the safer planning order is to fix the US dollar target first and then decide how much Canadian currency to commit, with a margin the investor is willing to fund. Whether a reduced threshold applies is a project-specific question for counsel.
A year-end balance establishes only what an account held on one date; it does not explain wages, a business sale, a gift, a loan, currency conversion, intermediate accounts, or transfer into the new commercial enterprise. Establish lawful source, ownership, actual capital invested at risk and the applicable job requirements. The plan must support ten full-time positions for qualifying US workers and the investor’s management or policy role. The review must account for capital that remains at risk, the required job creation, and the later conditional-residence stage.