Foreign Buyer Ban: Budget 2026 Proposes Exemption for New Homes

The biggest real estate headline in the federal budget tabled on November 5 is a proposal to exempt new residential properties from Canada’s foreign buyer ban. If Parliament passes it, non-Canadians could gain a new exemption for qualifying new homes.

I want to be straightforward about what that means today. This is a proposal, not law. Ottawa has not yet defined what counts as a “new” home, and it has not set a start date. The same measure would also extend the ban on existing homes for two more years. Here is what the budget actually says, and how I see it for West Vancouver and North Vancouver.

What the budget says

In Chapter 3, the government says Budget 2026 “proposes to extend the ban on foreign purchases of existing residential properties for two years, to January 1, 2029, while exempting new residential properties.”

The stated goal is “keeping the vast majority of the market available for Canadians, while unlocking additional investment in new housing supply.” The government adds that it “will propose legislation and launch a regulatory process on this change in short order.”

So the proposal has two parts. New residential properties would be exempt. Existing residential properties would stay under the ban until January 1, 2029.

Where the law stands right now

The current rules are set by the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, in force since January 1, 2023. Under the 2024 extension, the ban is currently scheduled to end on January 1, 2027.

That timing matters. The two-year extension in this budget is also only a proposal. Until Parliament acts, the existing ban continues to apply as written, including to new homes, and neither the exemption nor the extension has taken effect.

It also helps to know what the federal ban covers. It applies to detached houses and similar residential buildings with three or fewer dwelling units, and to condominium units, in census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, which includes Metro Vancouver. The rules already contain exceptions for certain temporary residents, protected persons, and buyers purchasing with a Canadian or permanent resident spouse or partner.

What we don’t know yet

The reality is that the most important details are still missing. The budget does not say whether “new” means presales, homes that have never been occupied, homes completed within a certain period, or something else. It does not say when the exemption would begin, or how a purchase that straddles the change would be treated.

If you are considering a purchase that may be affected by these rules, please don’t sign on a new home on the assumption that the exemption already applies. Speak with a real estate lawyer about eligibility under the Act first.

The 20% provincial tax is a separate issue

The federal ban is only one layer. In British Columbia, foreign nationals, foreign corporations and taxable trustees buying residential property in the Metro Vancouver Regional District, which includes West Vancouver and both North Vancouvers, pay an additional property transfer tax of 20% of their share of the fair market value. That is on top of the regular property transfer tax.

The federal budget does not change that provincial tax. Limited exemptions exist, including for confirmed B.C. Provincial Nominees, but most foreign buyers should expect to pay it. The budget itself notes that Ottawa will “continue to support a range of policy measures, such as those levied by other levels of government.”

This is not the mortgage news

The budget also proposes mortgage insurance changes, including raising the price limit for optional insured mortgages from $1 million to $1.5 million, with 30-year amortizations where a buyer is a first-time buyer or the home is newly built. That is a financing rule, not a change to who is allowed to buy, and at most West Vancouver price points it won’t come into play.

What it could mean on the North Shore

I’m not going to predict prices from a proposal. That said, here is how I’m thinking about it.

For new construction and presale projects, this could be meaningful. A wider pool of eligible buyers for new product, even with the provincial tax in place, may help some projects move forward.

For owners of existing homes, the proposal would keep the federal ban in place until 2029, and the provincial tax stays regardless.

For everyone, the next step is the legislation. That is where we’ll learn what “new” actually means.

If you’d like to talk through what this could mean for your property or your plans, I’m happy to help. Reach me at dj@djdenner.ca or 604.773.5204.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. The Budget 2026 measures described here are proposals and are not law.