St. Catharines mayor says new foreign homebuyers tax is not enough

The mayor of St. Catharines says the federal and provincial governments need to do more than just increasing and expanding Ontario’s foreign buyers tax in order to cool the province’s hot real estate market.

Adjusting the non-resident speculation tax to 20 per cent from 15 per cent and applying it beyond the Greater Golden Horseshoe is the focus of the More Homes for Everyone Act, which the province announced Wednesday.

“There’s a lot that has to go into this because at the end of the day, housing security is one of the most important things we treasure,” Walter Sendzik said in an interview on Morning Live Thursday.

“For a lot of people in our community, housing security is not something they feel very secure about right now.”

Other changes to the tax aimed at non-resident home buyers included the closure of a loophole that gave rebates to foreign students completing full-time studies for at least two years after a home purchase and foreign nationals who continuously worked full-time in Ontario for a year after buying.

The bill will also commit the province to working with municipalities on addressing speculation, provide $19 million over three years to reduce backlogs at the Ontario Land Tribunal and Landlord and Tenant Board and speed up the planning process for cities.

However, experts say the increased non-resident speculation tax that came into effect Wednesday will not cause housing prices to plunge or stop the bidding wars that have become the norm in the market.