Does the "Foreign Buyer Ban" apply to Cape Breton?

The short answer is: Yes - a bit.

Starting on January 1, 2023, non-Canadians are prohibited from buying residential property for a period of two years under an act called the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act.

A "non-Canadian" is someone who is neither a citizen nor a non-resident or a corporation without sufficient Canadian control. The ban was recently amended to permit temporary residents to purchase property if they have sufficient presence in Canada, they are only buying one property, and the property is being purchased for under $500,000.

There are other exemptions; if, for example, a non-Canadian is inheriting Canadian property or if the property is a gift they are not subject to the ban.

There are also exemptions that apply to multi-unit dwellings that are outside the scope of this article. 

One of the most difficult to define exemptions is for rural property and vacant land.

Rural Property.

The Foreign Buyer Ban applies to residential property, but does not include residential properties that are outside of census metropolitan areas or census agglomeration areas. What are those? A census metropolitan area, also known as a CMA, is a large city, like Toronto or Vancouver. A census agglomeration area, also known as a CA, is a grouping of communities centered around a core with a population of at least 10,000 people. Does that include Cape Breton? Yes, partially. Cape Breton is it's own CA, but the Cape Breton CA does not include all of Cape Breton Island. The map below shows the Cape Breton CA geographical area.

Source: Statistics Canada

As you can see, the area is large and includes many areas that we would consider "rural", such as Northside East Bay. However, all areas inside the blue line are considered part of the Cape Breton CA zone and are subject to the ban (as long as the other exemptions don't apply).  Anything outside the blue line on the island is not subject to the ban.

The only other CMA and CA zones in Nova Scotia are Halifax, Truro, New Glasgow, and Kentville.

Vacant Land.

The Foregin Buyer Ban applies to residential property. Whether or not a property is "residential" is a question of zoning, not whether or not it has a house on it. The ban specifically exempts rural property that is zoned residential or mixed use, whether not it is in a CA or not. That means a non-Canadian can buy vacant land that is zoned residential or mixed use inside the Cape Breton CA zone.

Each property is different and each person's situation is different. If you have a question about whether or not the Foreign Buyer Ban applies to your transaction, we encourage you to contact one of our knowledgeable real estate lawyers. 

This post was written by Anna Manley. If you'd like to contact Anna you can send her an email: anna@manleylaw.ca