A year ago, the federal government instituted a foreign buyer ban after passing the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act in 2022. The two-year ban, which came into effect on Jan. 1, barred non-citizens, non-permanent residents and foreign controlled companies from buying up Canadian property as an investment.
But Wallace says that ban didn’t do much for her family.
“There’s all of these very luxurious buildings going in all around us that are outrageously priced,” said Wallace, after attending an open house at a promising $1.1-million condo. “The foreign buyers tax … I don’t think that’s making an iota of difference.”
Critics say the foreign buyers ban, which was aimed at making housing affordable for Canadians, had many exemptions and was more of a political manoeuvre. They say it’s clear housing remains out of reach for too many in Canada, and that the country should look to other places in the world to find strategies to foster home ownership.
That term has been ruined by conspiracy theorists who can’t fathom a walkable city without cameras tracking your every movment, government forcing you to never leave your neighbourhood and other ridiculous exaggerations of what is just an urban planning concept.
“Congestion pricing? You mean a freedom tax.” “They want you to get rid of your car so they can control you” “You can’t visit anyone out of your 15 minute district”
Oh well. I can’t cater to the stupid and the insane. I’ll live where I don’t need a car to get basic amenities of life and use the money I save to live grandly. They can spend the money, time, and health on living with unnecessary vehicles until they die out.