[Locke]

Originally Posted by blankall

It's not immigrants though. It's non-residents storing money here. It's money they are taking illegally out of their countries of origin and laundering via Canada, because Canada has become an easy target. Canada is one of the few targets left in the world that has not put some kind of regulations into place.

To illustrate the difference, Immigrants are people who move to Canada and, generally, contribute to the economy. Non-resident investors just park the money here. Meanwhile the residents' taxes go towards providing the infrastructure necessary for their real estate (roads, electricity, plumbing, sanitation, etc...). Investing in real estate, unlike other forms of foreign investment, is passive and does nothing to stimulate the local economy.

Well said.

And many countries do hold restrictions based on citizenship and residency.

I have a client right now that wants to buy a property in Australia to retire to and she cant because despite being a citizen she isnt a full-time and local resident.