[RandyRanderson]

This is likely just for show - just as a similar law was in BC.

You can become a landed immigrant if you invest[0] a few hundred thousand in canada and, in that case, you're likely not a 'foreign' buyer (FB) anymore. If you're buying a 1.5M home, what's another couple hundred thousand?

Also there are numerous other ways to get around being a FB:

1 investing in a company with a canadian. The company buys the property and because it's 'canadian controlled' the 15pc doesn't apply. The canadian in the deal likely gets an envelope of cash to keep their mouth shut. Usually the canadian is a chinese national that took advantage of #2.

2 Quebec used to have a deal where you 'invested' something like 250k and you got a canadian citizenship. This is not avail anymore. Of course no one actually moved to QC, they went straight to BC because weather.

Canada is going to be in real trouble if the Chinese money stops flowing; at this point i'd guess real estate is 40-50pc of our economy.

[0] Note that 'investing' in not what you think it is - there's loopholes there too.