Will this actually do anything, though? The Vancouver and Toronto metro areas implemented foreign investor taxes on home purchases a bunch of years ago. I believe the data shows that the taxes did dramatically reduce foreign real estate investment, but it wasn't clear that it did much to make home prices more affordable for citizens. Granted, it's possible that foreign investment would have made the situation worse. But it seems like it's a lever that didn't really do much to move the needle.
The only real solution is to build more and more housing in places where people want to live, increasing density where necessary. I know a lot of people don't like this for a variety of reasons, but: tough shit. Buying a house doesn't give you the right to stop time. Yes, increased density does bring some negatives, but I don't see a world where those negatives are worse than the effects of skyrocketing housing prices.
The proposal would impact expats the most, and wealthy foreign investors would probably find a way around it. Also, I bet internal housing prices have resulted from internal investment/cash parking. Thus, building housing is not the only real solution.
In my opinion, a simple, progressive land tax would go a long way in addressing the housing shortage.
The taxes in BC certainly caused prices to stall out but then there was a once a century pandemic, the Bank of Canada dropped interest rates to about zero, and real estate once again took off like a rocket.
Who knows how the market would have gone had that not happened.
The only real solution is to build more and more housing in places where people want to live, increasing density where necessary. I know a lot of people don't like this for a variety of reasons, but: tough shit. Buying a house doesn't give you the right to stop time. Yes, increased density does bring some negatives, but I don't see a world where those negatives are worse than the effects of skyrocketing housing prices.