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The bigger issue is the multitude of exceptions. A ban on foreign buyers except for permanent residents, students, and recreational properties isn't much of a b

The bigger issue is the multitude of exceptions. A ban on foreign buyers except for permanent residents, students, and recreational properties isn't much of a ban at all. Canadian permanent residency is incredibly easy to obtain, and students are frequently used as straw purchasers for their foreign parents (just look at the number of UBC students who own multimillion dollar homes despite having zero income). It also doesn't address foreign citizens buying through Canadian shell companies, a strategy used in Vancouver to avoid their foreign buyer tax.

bryanlarsen 5y ago
The loopholes are well known, so we'll see the sincerity of the government by looking into the details of the implementation, which we might not get today.
542458 5y ago
> Canadian permanent residency is incredibly easy to obtain I don’t feel this is broadly true. I just watched a friend jump though ridiculous hoops and inefficient bureaucracies to get her PR. Is there a particular method for getting a PR that you feel is too easy?
- pkd 5y ago
  It is not easy. But it is varying levels of hard depending on your background. You are also required to spend over half the year every year in Canada and it expires every five years. I'm not sure why permanent residents shouldn't be exempt when they are literally mandated to be permanently based out of Canada.
- pseudo0 5y ago
  Just visit any forum or discussion board related to immigration and you will see Canada mentioned as the fallback for people who can't get into the US. In particular, there has been pretty widespread abuse of investor visas, region-specific incentives, and student work visas. Investor visas have an extremely poor economic return, and most of the people who benefit from regional programs immediately move to the GTA. There are also a plethora of degree mill community colleges that count as "Canadian postsecondary institutions" for immigration purposes. In reality, their students do a few hours of academic work a week to keep their student work visa and moonlight as a trucker or in some other blue-collar field. Canada's approach to immigration, with over 400k people last year, is to take whoever as long as it keeps wages down and property prices up.

bryanlarsen 5y ago

The loopholes are well known, so we'll see the sincerity of the government by looking into the details of the implementation, which we might not get today.

542458 5y ago

> Canadian permanent residency is incredibly easy to obtain I don’t feel this is broadly true. I just watched a friend jump though ridiculous hoops and inefficient bureaucracies to get her PR. Is there a particular method for getting a PR that you feel is too easy?

pkd 5y ago
It is not easy. But it is varying levels of hard depending on your background. You are also required to spend over half the year every year in Canada and it expires every five years. I'm not sure why permanent residents shouldn't be exempt when they are literally mandated to be permanently based out of Canada.
pseudo0 5y ago
Just visit any forum or discussion board related to immigration and you will see Canada mentioned as the fallback for people who can't get into the US. In particular, there has been pretty widespread abuse of investor visas, region-specific incentives, and student work visas. Investor visas have an extremely poor economic return, and most of the people who benefit from regional programs immediately move to the GTA. There are also a plethora of degree mill community colleges that count as "Canadian postsecondary institutions" for immigration purposes. In reality, their students do a few hours of academic work a week to keep their student work visa and moonlight as a trucker or in some other blue-collar field. Canada's approach to immigration, with over 400k people last year, is to take whoever as long as it keeps wages down and property prices up.