B.C. real estate developers call on government to reconsider foreign buyer ban amid industry slowdown

More than two dozen of Canada’s leading real estate and construction executives—including leaders from Beedie Living, Polygon, Edgar Development and Cressey—are urging the federal and provincial governments to rethink Canada’s foreign buyer ban.

In a July 29 open letter to key federal and provincial leaders—Prime Minister Mark Carney, federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, Premier David Eby, B.C. Housing Minister Christine Boyle and Ravi Kahlon—the group says the current policy is unintentionally stalling new housing construction, putting jobs at risk and deepening the province’s housing affordability crisis.

Canada’s foreign buyer ban—the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act—first came into effect in January 2023. The act prohibits non-Canadians (with exceptions for some immigrant categories) from purchasing residential property for two years.

The federal government made four amendments to the ban in March 2023 to loosen restrictions on development-related purchases, but in February 2024, it announced the ban would be extended until early 2027. While the legislation was framed as a key affordability measure aimed at keeping homes accessible to people living in Canada—developers say it’s led to unintended consequences.

Many new condo developments depend on pre-sales to secure financing, and a portion of those early buyers are typically investors—including foreign ones.

Without access to that investor pool, developers say, fewer projects are able to reach the pre-sale targets required to move forward. As a result, fewer homes are being built—worsening the very supply shortage the policy was intended to address.

“While we understand that the ban was implemented to protect housing supply for Canadians, it has unfortunately impacted the construction of new homes, as an unintended consequence,” the letter explains.

Developers cite hard numbers surrounding the ongoing real industry crumble—housing construction declined by 50% from March 2024 starts of 4,867, to 2,379 housing starts in March 2025, and year-to-date condo/multi-family unit starts are down 22% in B.C.

From scaling back operations to cutting down their workforces, Canadian real estate companies are having to make difficult business decisions. According to the letter, construction and real estate together accounted for nearly 30% of B.C.’s GDP in 2023—about $93 billion—making the slowdown a significant economic concern as well.

B.C. also levies a separate 20% foreign buyer tax—currently only applied to temporary residents still allowed to purchase property in the province and exempted by the federal ban—which further limits the pool of international investors.

The signees note that Canada is among a handful of countries with a blanket ban and urge policymakers to consider a more targeted approach.

They point to Australia—the first country to implement a foreign buyer ban, that has since amended it—and its 2025 reforms, which restrict foreign ownership of resale properties but allow investment in newly constructed homes.

The policy aims to support housing supply and maintain construction momentum while protecting affordability for local buyers.

“With coordinated action between federal and provincial governments,” the letter concludes, “similar measures could meaningfully accelerate housing starts, address structural challenges in the building industry, thus improving long-term affordability for British Columbians.”