Why Canada's ban on foreign buyers hasn't made homes more affordable
Why Canada's ban on foreign buyers hasn't made homes more affordable
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.
Because there is no reforming capitalism, it is designed to funnel money and resources upwards.
You're right, if course, but even if we stop short of "Ending capitalism", there's a more immediate problem (a direct corollary of your statement), which is that we've allowed housing to become an investment.
And as long as housing is an investment, there must be a housing crisis. Not "will", must. For the value of those investments to increase, demand must outstrip supply. Solving the housing crisis means ending housing as an investment, and until someone can square that circle nothing will ever change.
why stop short? It's literally the only way to end this inequality, that's my point
No, "we" haven't done anything, commodification of necessities is one of the cornerstones of capitalism and is enforced by and benefits capitalists, so you're basically repeating what I've said - this is a feature of the system, and the system must be abolished to resolve the problem.
No housing reform will stop housing from being a commodity. They are never going to legislate anything that harms their bottom line. Building more houses will just continue to feed the rich (also, enough housing already exists in many countries). Stopping "outside" rich from buying just leaves "inside" rich to continue to do whatever the fuck they like (including making money from being middle person to "outside" rich).
So sure, you can put a band aid on a brain tumour, but don't expect it to heal.
I get that it can be uncomfortable to confront this reality, but the time has come (and gone, tbf) to abolish the whole fucking thing.