Foreign investor selected as Canadian Press business newsmaker of the year
TORONTO — A nameless, faceless figure at the heart of the controversy surrounding soaring real estate prices has been named The Canadian Press business newsmaker of the year.
As home prices in Vancouver and Toronto rose at a torrid pace, public and political attention shifted to an enigma that, rightly or wrongly, some believed to be the culprit: the foreign investor.
Stories about buyers from outside Canada, particularly those from China, snapping up Vancouver houses dominated headlines over the past year, sparking outrage among some.
The issue became so heated that it prompted the B.C. government to implement a 15 per cent tax beginning in August on homes purchased by foreign nationals in Metro Vancouver.