Please bear with me, as this will take more than 1 paragraph.

I'm a 43 year old self-employed U.S. citizen. My wife is a Canadian citizen.
We have been married for 17 years, with all 4 of our children having been born in the U.S.. Our children's ages are 14, 12, 9 & 4.

We reside in the U.S.

I have been the bread-winner of the family, while my wife has managed the house-hold.

We are planning to move to Canada shortly, because both my parents, and my wife's parents (all Canadian citizens) are retired now, and will soon need our help.

My wife cannot show adequate income to sponsor me. However, we should have about $200,000 dollars in our pockets, after we sell our house (equity, as in money left over after paying off the mortgage). Also, for the past few years, our family income has been about 50% above the Canadian minimum requirement to support a family of six.

My wife is prepared to also work full-time (grand-parents can watch kids) in order to get things rolling.

Will the assets ($200,000) which we will bring be enough to show that my wife can support me for 3 years (I doubt it would come to that), or does she need to find a job in Canada first, and then I'd follow after getting my work permit.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance !

I studied briefly in Canada and for some reasons had to return to the States because of financial reasons.You would probably put that amount of money in the a Canadian Bank.I would wait until the U.S dollar purchase power raises over the Canadian dollar.Once you have that amount of money in the Bank you can also start looking to buy a property in Canada, either house or small business.Once you achieve that goal, you will be eligible for business visa that doesn't require work permit.