The measure was promised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his 2021 election campaign. It excludes refugees and people with legal residence permits, as well as purchases in tourist structures such as vacation homes.
Foreigners are no longer allowed to buy real estate in Canada as of Sunday and for the next two years, a ban imposed to address the country’s housing shortage — houses and apartments.
Exceptions are provided for refugees and people with legal residence permits, while the law only applies to houses and apartments in cities, not to tourist structures, such as country houses for example.
The measure was promised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his 2021 election campaign.
His Liberal party blamed foreign investors for driving up prices, making real estate unaffordable for many Canadians. The law was adopted in the spring.
However, the real estate market has been slowing down lately, mainly due to the rise in interest rates decided by the central bank to tame inflation.
The average price of a home stood at 630,000 Canadian dollars (465,000 US dollars, 435,000 euros) last month, up from 800,000 a year ago, according to a real estate agency.
Some experts remain skeptical of the measure’s effectiveness, as foreigners account for just under 5% of Canadian homeowners, according to Statistics Canada. They argue that it would be better to speed up the construction of new homes.
RES-EMP
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