No. E-2 has its own development-and-direction and enterprise requirements. Assess the actual role without importing a different category’s standard.
Describe the work honestly
Do not remove real operating tasks solely to make the proposal resemble an L-1A case.
Work the eligibility questions in the normal order — nationality first, since citizenship of a treaty country is what counts and residence in Canada alone does not supply it, then the enterprise, the funds and the investor's role. Reduced demand does not automatically end E-2 eligibility, but the investor must continue to show treaty nationality, qualifying enterprise ownership, substantial funds irrevocably committed and at risk, operational control or at least fifty percent ownership, and a real nonmarginal business. The enterprise must be at least 50 percent owned by Canadian nationals and the investor must develop and direct it, so a 40 percent minority stake under a U.S. majority owner fails the ownership and control requirement before anything else is examined. If external providers control the essential commercial activity, examine whether the proposed investor genuinely develops and directs the enterprise rather than simply receiving a return. No blanket prohibition applies to financing, and the character of the debt is what matters, so an obligation secured by the assets of the enterprise being acquired is treated differently from one supported by the investor's own assets or guarantee.