The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says it has been in contact with tax authorities and police agencies that track money laundering in order to beef up its data collection regarding foreign buyers.
It's an issue that has become divisive in recent months and years as Canadian house prices — especially in the two hot markets of Toronto and Vancouver — set sales records with each passing month.
In November, CMHC head Evan Siddall said he suspects foreign money is driving up prices, especially in the luxury home market.
"In Vancouver and Toronto, it is very possible that foreign buyers account for a substantial portion of the demand for pricier, luxury single-family homes," Siddall said last fall, adding that the agency was looking at beefing up its data on the subject.
CBC business columnist Don Pittis argued late last year that it's a "scandal" Canada doesn't have a good official estimate of how much foreign money is invested in Canadian housing, when other countries assemble that info as a matter of course.
B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong told CBC News last month that the province will be able to formulate recommendations after it has collected foreign ownership data.
"There are all kinds of approaches and ideas," he said. "Our objective here is not to suddenly say to the rest of the world that people aren't welcome here and that we aren't encouraging people to come here to invest, to create jobs, to create businesses. But we also want to make sure that there's equity. We want to ensure that people are following our rules and paying the taxes that they are obliged to pay."
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