It could be, though I can't help but notice that the USA levies taxes on primary homes and in many jurisdictions in that country they also have very expensive r

It could be, though I can't help but notice that the USA levies taxes on primary homes and in many jurisdictions in that country they also have very expensive real estate. (yes there's a sizeable exemption, but not so big that no one would ever pay it) I suspect other issues such as low rental vacancy, not enough supply of homes and very low property taxes are more dominant causes of high Canadian real estate prices.