Foreign Ownership Ban Extended

Finance Canada has extended the ban on foreign ownership of Canadian housing for an additional two years.  This will now expire on January 1, 2027. Foreign commercial enterprises and people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents will not be allowed to purchase residential property in Canada.  But will this help make housing more affordable in Canada? 

Not according to Christopher Alexander, president of RE/MAX Canada, who told Bloomberg News that  foreign homebuyers represent about 4% of all homebuyers in Canada.   According to Global News, CMHC data showed only 2% of real estate purchase in 2021 were made by non-Canadians.

The shortage of affordable homes, particularly in cities like Toronto and Vancouver is still a big issue which could make multi-family living a trend to stay.  According to Statistica research, the number of multi-family homes has been rising over the past 10 years, from 4.7 Million to just over 5 Million in 2023.  There are also some new tax incentives to encourage this; notably the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit.