Canadian Law Is Not Great For People In New York State

Lawmakers in Canada recently approved and extended a law about property ownership that is not great news for New Yorkers who live to vacation there.

Back in 2023, the Canadian Government passed a new law that prohibited foreign commercial companies and people who don't have Canadian citizenship from buying property in Canada.

The law was expected to expire at the end of 2024, but lawmakers extended that law until 2027.

Many New York residents who live along the New York/Canadian border have bought or wanted to buy property along the water on the Canadian side of the border and will no longer be able to purchase new property until this law expires.

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The Canadian government said it expanded the law because the housing crisis in Canada won't be over by the end of the year.

"The government is intent on using all possible tools to make housing more affordable for Canadians across the country.”

If non-Canadians are found to have brought property during the ban, they will be fined $10,000 and be forced to sell the property to a Canadian citizen.

There is a shortage of homes for sale in Canada but with interest rates falling, the Canadian government is hoping to see a rebound in home sales soon.

Growing up in West Seneca, I knew a lot of families that had a summer cottage on the Canadian side of the border. Now it looks like some families in New York won't have a chance to create those same memories, at least until 2027.