Do you want to buy a house in Canada? Not so fast. | World News,The Indian Express

Beginning Jan. 1, Canada is enacting a wide-ranging ban on the purchase of residential property by non-Canadians for two years.

This summer, after the US Supreme Court struck down the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v Wade, Americans flooded Google and typed in “how to move to Canada” — the search term spiked 850% in one hour. “How to become a Canadian citizen” spiked 550%.

Moving to Canada has long been a knee-jerk impulse when domestic politics turn sour, and not just in the United States. In Britain, the “How to move to Canada” search shot up in June 2016, shortly after the Brexit referendum.

But Canada may not want you anymore — at least, it’s making it much harder to buy property there. Beginning Jan. 1, America’s friendly neighbour to the north is enacting a wide-ranging ban on the purchase of residential property by non-Canadians for two years.

Like many countries during the pandemic, Canada saw huge price increases for both sales and rentals as borrowing rates plunged to record lows, taking inventory with them. In the midst of a bruising election campaign in 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party of Canada took a swing at a housing crisis that was becoming a political crisis. “The desirability of Canadian homes is attracting profiteers, wealthy corporations, and foreign investors,” proclaimed a campaign website. “Homes are for people, not investors.”

After a close election victory, the party last spring quietly introduced the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, putting foreign homebuyers in the cross hairs.

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/canada-housing-ban-foreigners-8351916/

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