Only if the buyer will genuinely develop and direct the enterprise. Majority ownership is the usual proof, but a franchise agreement that reserves most operating decisions to the franchisor can undermine it, so the agreement's control clauses are examined alongside the share percentage.
Reading control in a franchise
Franchises are compatible with E-2 when the owner still runs the business: hiring and dismissing staff, setting wages, managing the budget, choosing which lines to stock within the required range, and deciding whether to add a second location. The franchisor's standards on branding, minimum inventory and approved suppliers are ordinary commercial controls and do not, on their own, defeat direction. Problems arise when the agreement lets the franchisor appoint or remove the general manager, requires its approval for every hire, or takes over operations on certain triggers.
Mark those clauses and ask the franchisor whether they are negotiable for a transferred location. Separately, the couple must decide which of them is the principal: if the shares are held equally, one spouse should hold the documented operational authority, or the enterprise should be structured so that one holds more than half. Nationality is checked for both the investor and the ownership of the enterprise, so a non-Canadian minority partner needs to be evaluated as well.