A federal extension proposed in Canada’s 2026 budget would extend the non-Canadian residential property purchase ban to Jan. 1, 2029, while exempting new builds, according to a B.C. planner and real estate consultant.
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Canada’s 2026 budget, announced Thursday, proposes extending the federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act to Jan. 1, 2029, with an exemption for new residential properties.
The current federal ban is set to expire on Jan. 1, 2027. The proposed change would extend it for two more years, except when it comes to new builds.
Community planner and real estate consultant Michael Geller said the extension would benefit British Columbia’s housing market, pointing to the weakness of housing markets in the province.
“It’s something the development industry has been asking for because while the foreign buyers are not a significant segment of the market, in the past they were an important segment,” Geller said. “And our housing markets are so weak right now; any benefit would be greatly appreciated.”
Geller said the federal ban began on Jan. 1, 2023, when the Bank of Canada was raising interest rates and other global factors were affecting homebuyers.
Statistics Canada data cited in the report show non-residents made up a small share of property owners in major markets. In B.C., non-residents owned about 4.5 per cent of all properties in 2021, just over four per cent in 2022 and 2023, and 3.8 per cent in 2024.
Geller also said that even if the federal ban is extended or removed, additional provincial and local taxes would continue to deter many foreign buyers.
He noted B.C. has a provincial sales tax of 20 per cent on foreign home buyers. “So even if this federal ban is removed, a lot of foreign buyers are still going to be deterred by that 20 per cent tax, especially those who might be interested in buying a home to live in as a second home in British Columbia, because in addition to that tax, they would also have to pay the provincial speculation and vacancy tax,” he said.
Geller further said that if a purchase is in Vancouver, an additional empty home tax would apply, and he linked those taxes to harm for the development industry.
He also said the new BC Conservative government did not mention the foreign buyers tax or the speculation and vacancy tax during the recent provincial election campaign.
Geller said British Columbia could see additional benefits if it removed or modified those taxes. “The more we could actually remove some of these taxes, if only for say two year period, I really believe that would spur a lot of new development and we need it,” he added.
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