Canada

I'll start! First- WELCOME!!

LOVE CANADA!

I'm just sad they don't love us. I get it, but we're not all MAGAts who want to spread misery to Canada. I would love to emigrate there, but because I am old and disabled, that's not really a thing. It took me years and multiple consults with a BC immigration lawyer to convince my husband that it's ok for us to have a second home on Vancouver Island, that could also be our go-to if things here get much worse. We had planned to start looking next summer, we wanted to settle things before the 2024 election.

And then Trudeau announced that Canada is banning ALL foreign real estate purchases beginning Jan 1 and for a period of no less than 2 years. We couldn't have done it financially this year, so now our plan is 100% kaboshed.

I understand the need to curb foreign investment to help cool housing markets in Toronto & Vancouver, but I feel that a blanket ban, with no exceptions for Americans & Mexicans, who are all part of NAFTA anyway, is unfair and mean spirited. I also fail to see how two nearly senior citizen Americans, buying ONE home that we plan to use ourselves only, and in a far flung area not in a big city, has any effect on housing prices in the big city. This means if I wanted to buy a ski condo in Whistler I cannot. Can't buy a house in Calgary either. Nor Newfoundland. We live in California - we know how expensive housing is and we understand the issues.We don't plan to seek jobs there or use the national healthcare system. We're happy to pay real estate taxes. We'd be considered "retirees" and we know we'd have to leave for 24 hours every 6 months to stay legally.

The foreign investors being targeted are mostly Chinese, Russian & Saudi, if I'm not mistaken, and I'm sure they'll find ways to circumvent the new law anyway. These foreign investors use real estate as a safe deposit box for their cash. Canada is a stable country, so I can see why you all got targeted as much as NYC or London or San Diego.  It's also mostly done through corporations, who buy up lots of properties and "portfolio" them, and then individual investors buy shares in the portfolio. The homes either sit vacant or get turned into short term rentals, which benefits no one in that community.I feel like it could have been done a little better. For example, I think it would be fair for Canada to say:

• No purchasing of real estate by corporate entities for 2 years
• American & Mexican individuals should be limited to no more than 2 real estate purchases, 1 of which must be for personal use only
• If an American or Mexican buys a home in Vancouver or Toronto, they can only buy 1 in that city, a second home has to be somewhere outside the cities
• Other foreigners should be limited to ONE purchase and it has to be for personal use, not as an investment property
• Foreigners/entities (other than American & Mexican) who own properties in Canada should be subject to additional real estate tax

If you have any insights on this, I'm open to reading them!

We REALLY REALLY REALLY want to move to Victoria. We feel much calmer and at peace there. It's so beautiful and the people are so lovely. Last time we were there we even sat in on a provincial government session. We were walking by and a guard said we could go in, we said "But we're American" and he smiled and said "You should go in, trust me." He was right. It was simultaneously banal and delightful! So civil!

In the meantime I'm doing my best to encourage my 22 year old daughter and her 26 y/o BF to immigrate there. She is on board, he is resistant.  Part of our plan was to get the second home in BC and let them use it when we're not there, to give them a base to look for jobs, etc., and get visas.

We've also all been to Toronto and Quebec. Back in the day, when my husband was a rock musician, he toured Canada a bit (in a van, naturally) and even went as far as Penetanguishene! Hubby has also been to Ottowa multiple times for business. We've never had a bad time in Canada. I'd be willing to return to a cold climate to escape the hellscape the US is becoming. (Got a spare room?)

That's my whole rant. You asked!  😘 

Forgot to add: this law does not apply to anyone granted a legal residency visa, those folks can still buy property. But that still locks out older American retirees.

@laura-f bienevue du Canada... I do believe you will watch tinkering happen, you're definitely not in the target group(s).  

The reality on the ground is very bizarre in terms of housing here.  From offshore and corporate buying of houses, short-term rentals, shady real estate practices, lending to people where the agents/brokers/banks/buyers colluded for people to get loans they should not have got.

Not everyone is dishonest, but each dishonest transaction artificially pushes up prices across the board.

@jackofhearts 

Believe me, I understand. It's no better here.

I was living in downtown San Diego. Our block had 15 single family homes. When I moved to my house in 2014, 12 of the homes were owner occupied and 3 were long term rentals (people who were renting there long before us). One owner was a 90 year old lady who was born (and then died) in one of the houses. Everyone knew everyone, we even had block parties. Beginning about 2016, things started to change.

As happens anywhere, a house would go on the market, due to either owner death or even just relocation, but it would then get  bought by a landlord-investor(s) -a lot of them realtors in fact - and then turned into an AirBnb.  The 90 year old lady's house got remodeled into THREE short term rental units.  Then the long term rental landlords kicked out their renters at the end of their leases and also converted to short term rentals. I can understand "flipping" old houses in hot real estate markets like San Diego, but I never understood this.

By the time we sold and left this year, only 4 of the 15 single family homes were still owner occupied, and only 1 house remained a long term rental. Every weekend and holiday the block would fill with tourists who know nothing of the community, would block our driveways, leave trash in the street. We lost count of how many times we had to call police due to not only noise, but assaults among the guests, the street getting clogged with cars (it was a dead end), and people wandering into our property looking for their rental. Too much chaos.

I in particular got sick of these tourists coming up to me as I would leave my house to ask me how much MY AirBnB rental vacation was costing and could they come inside to see it for next time! I started pretending I don't speak English and would ignore them, but if they pressed on I would curse them out in Italian.  Then there were weeknights when I realized that my husband and owner-neighbors and even long term renters were away on business (pre-pandemic) and that it was only me and one elderly couple that were sleeping in our houses on the block.  This also became an issue because of the severe homeless/mentally ill crisis in our cities, and I felt unsafe staying in the house alone (in fact I stopped walking on local errands too).

I told my husband - either we get a german shepherd and a gun or we move. We moved.

Merci de votre accueil. J’espère être propriétaire d’une maison au Canada avant de mourir!

@laura-f Vancouver BC does have a vacant home tax.  It is 3% of assessed value and will increase to 5% in 2023.  It does not matter your nationality. If the house sits vacant, you are taxed

@heatherb 

Welcome to the forum! Glad to have you make your first post on the forum after  signing up 3 years ago!  WOW!  I love the fact that it is a post regarding Canada which brought you out of lurker status.  haha.  I absolutely love British Columbia!  I have visited  5 times in the past but it has been 21 years since my last visit trip there.  I need to go again!!

@laura-f Haha!  My husband and I were just on Vancouver Island in Brentwood Bay a few weeks ago and visited Victoria, too.  We fell in love with Victoria all over again and I can see why you had your heart set on it.

@enigmachic 

Welcome to the forum!  Canada sure seems to be bringing in firs time members! Glad you are joining us, hope you enjoy our community!

@lovendures & enigmachic, I too am Canadian and until recently just watched from the shadows here.   🇨🇦

@cbrittgirl5 

Welcome Kathy!  Something tells me we are going to get a lot of posts from Canadians now and that makes me smile.  (One a personal note, my grandfather was born in Winnipeg over 110 years ago but he moved to the U.S. at age nine. )

Interesting isn't it that on the eve of the U.S. election, the Canadians have decided to make their presence known.  So happy you have done so.  Those of us in the U.S. are a bit election laser focused right now, but truly we care deeply about our neighbors to the North.  

We are all connected and it is beautiful that @Jeanne-Mayell has created a safe and caring place for like-minded people and light workers around the globe.  

Our Canadian friends might be starting a movement and encourage more of our European and global friends to actively join us now as well. 

Welcome again dear new (and old) Canadian friends!

@enigmachic Welcome to our forum!  I am so glad you posted.  

I too love Canada.  My father was born in western Canada and I still own a share in a Quebec cottage that my grandfather left us. When I was a child, I made a school project out of promoting the whole country to my peers.  I called it "Canada O Canada."  It's in my blood, this country of forests, mountains, and starry skies. I love Quebec especially because my soul lives part time in that Quebec cottage, but I also love Nova Scotia and British Columbia.  In fact, there is no place in Canada that I've been to that I haven't loved. I've seen the documentary, Canada O Canada about ten times and every time I cry. 

Canada welcomed many baby boomers during the late sixties who didn't want to fight in Vietnam.  Although the US eventually forgave the draft dodgers, many decided not to return to the US.  Some say they made the country more progressive, but perhaps that's Americans being too egocentric. 

When Trump was elected, we researched our ability to emigrate to Canada, but alas, Canada was even stricter than the US about accepting seniors who don't bring more than $2 million in cash to invest there. It's a progressive country but that doesn't apply to seniors immigration. So we can't get citizenship.  My father's birth and my land-owning status doesn't matter to them. But they are clear that we can buy our way in if we have the cash to invest there. 

As for your desire to have us do more predictions about Canada -- there are a few Canadian seers who participate regularly in our predictions. Sophie, aka Opal, regularly posts Canadian election predictions during our Read the Future events, and the other seers have chosen not to reveal their countries of origin. 

You can keep this thread active by posting questions and I will alert the Canadian seers here to see if they will reply. 

When we do the next Read the Future Meditation, I can try to remember to ask people to see what they can by specific countries outside the US. 

Hi all! I was wondering if anyone had any intuitive hits about what was going on with the objects that were shot down over the Yukon and over Lake Huron? I remember reading that the Yukon one was probably a balloon but didn't ever hear any conclusion over the Lake Huron object. 

@cbrittgirl5 Just an FYI, your email address keeps bouncing. You subscribed to the Random Predictions thread so the site sends you alerts whe someone posts there. But those emails keep bouncing back to me, saying your email address is undeliverable.  Iehter log into your account here and correct it or send me a message via the contact form using your correct email addrss and I will fix it. Thanks!

@jeanne-mayell 

Thank you & I’ll correct that right now.

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