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The Conservatives in the past have said they have no plans to change foreign ownership rules on property in Canada. There are none federally though some provinces have restrictions of their own.

The prime minister said his government is committed to begin tracking foreign ownership in the residential market. “In most developed economies, governments track this kind of information. Governments in Canada, historically, have not. As a start, this needs to change.”

Harper offered no specific on how he will began tracking foreign ownership levels although Crown Corporation Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp has been tracking the sale of existing condos in the Toronto and Vancouver area and found less than 2.5 per cent of that market is foreign owned.

“A reelected Conservative government will commit to collecting comprehensive data on the foreign non-resident purchase of Canadian real estate,” said Harper, adding his government would coordinate with provinces to ensure non-resident investment “supports the availability and affordability of homes” for Canadians.

Real estate officials say home buyers must provide identification when purchasing based on rules provided by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada but citizenship is not a question.

“We’ve never had any specific data on profiling of the buyer,” said Pauline Aunger, president of the Canadian Real Estate Association, adding her group would be happy to work with the government in sharing data. “At this point, we don’t know what our buyers look like.”

gmarr@nationalpost.com

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