I currently have a valid work permit that expires in January 09 for a prior employer as a management consultant. I am interested in obtaining a new permit as an independent management consultant under my business as an "LLC" entity; however, my organization has not done any business in Canada. How do I go about getting this permit? My intention is to apply for permanent residency in Canada in a few years and I would like to be firmly established before that time.

To seek a Canadian work permit, there must be a valid "employer of record." If you are seeking a work permit on the basis of your own company, then a typical work permit will be based on an agreement with a specific Canadian client.

This discussion sounds similar to mine, except I have never worked in Canada -- I am a self-employed consultant operating under a US LLC. Since the response was over a year old I just wanted (a) to check if you would respond the same way now and (b) to see if there's any rule you can point me that supports this.