Ford government boosts foreign homebuyer tax to 20%, applying it provincewide

Ontario is increasing a tax on non-resident homebuyers to 20 per cent and expanding it to cover the whole province.

The government said the changes set to take effect Wednesday are part of its action plan on housing.

“Our government is working to increase supply and help keep costs low for Ontario families and homebuyers, not foreign speculators looking to turn a quick profit,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in a written statement on Tuesday.

Bethlenfalvy said lack of housing supply and rising costs have put home ownership out of reach for too many families. He called the government’s non-resident speculation tax “the most comprehensive” in Canada.

The tax first introduced in 2017 had previously been set at 15 per cent, and only applied to homes purchased by foreign nationals, foreign corporations and taxable trustees in the densely populated Greater Golden Horseshoe region in southern Ontario.