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- Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged Tuesday to ban foreign home buyers for two years if he is re-elected.
- Housing affordability has become a key issue in Canada's upcoming national election, as the COVID-19 pandemic drove up property prices in the country.
- Housing prices peaked in March this year, with an average home costing CA$716,000 ($568,000) – a 31.6% increase year over year.
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Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged Tuesday to ban foreign home buyers for two years if re-elected, reported CBC.
Housing affordability has become a key part of Canada's upcoming national election on September 20, as the COVID-19 pandemic drove up property prices in the country.
Housing prices peaked in March this year, with an average home costing $716,000 Canadian ($568,000) – a 31.6% increase year over year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
Prices have tapered since then, with the average house price coming in at CA$662,000 ($525,200) in July. But that is still 22% higher compared to last year, according to CREA.
"If you work hard, if you save, that dream of having your own place should be in reach. But for too many people, it just isn't – and that's not right," Trudeau said during a campaign stop in Hamilton, Ontario, CBC reported.
The Canadian prime minister added that there should be "no more foreign wealth being parked in homes that people should be living in," Bloomberg reported.
Foreign buyers have been snapping up properties in Canada in recent years. In 2015, the Financial Post reported that Chinese buyers made up one-third of residential sales in Vancouver and 14% in Toronto. The outlet cited data from the National Bank of Canada.
The federal government said it would roll out a 1% tax on vacant or underused foreign-owned houses in January next year to curb foreign demand on houses. Trudeau told the crowd in Hamilton that he'll expand the tax to vacant land in large urban areas, reported CBC.
Trudeau's opponents have also zeroed in on the housing crisis in Canada, with the New Democratic Party pledging to impose a 20% tax on foreign home buyers and the Conservatives also proposing a similar ban on foreign buyers, reported the Vancouver Sun.
The prime minister called for a snap election earlier this month - two years ahead of schedule - as polls indicated that his minority Liberal party would be able to form a majority, reported The Guardian.