BC Ski Resorts Frozen Out by Federal Foreign Buyer Ban

VANCOUVER, BC – January 19, 2026 – As the winter season hits its peak, real estate associations in British Columbia are renewing their calls for the federal government to thaw the freeze on foreign investment in several of the province's key ski resort communities. They argue that a well-intentioned federal housing policy is having unintended and damaging consequences on tourism-dependent local economies.

The Association of Interior REALTORS® (AOIR) and the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) issued a joint statement today, urging Ottawa to immediately exempt major Interior ski resorts from the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act. The groups contend that another year has passed without a fix, leaving these communities at a significant economic disadvantage.

A Policy's Unintended Consequences

The federal Foreign Buyer Ban, first enacted in 2023 and recently extended until January 1, 2027, was designed to curb speculative investment and improve housing affordability for Canadians in major urban centers. However, the legislation's broad-stroke application has inadvertently caught several resort municipalities in its net.

The prohibition applies to residential properties within geographical boundaries defined by Statistics Canada as Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) and Census Agglomerations (CAs). A CMA is a region with a total population of at least 100,000, while a CA has a core population of at least 10,000. Because of these classifications, resort communities like Sun Peaks (within the Kamloops CMA) and Silverstar (within the Vernon CA) are subject to the ban.

Real estate groups argue this statistical grouping misrepresents the economic reality of these areas. "The Interior has some of the province's most important tourism regions and most popular ski hills," said Seth Scott, AOIR's Director of Government Relations and Communications. "Homes on these mountains serve a different purpose than those in the centre of communities. With another ski season underway, now is the time for government to step up with an exemption and keep these areas economically viable in an already challenged economy."

A Tale of Two Slopes

The central frustration for industry advocates is the policy's inconsistency. While Sun Peaks, Silverstar, and Apex Mountain are barred from accepting foreign buyers, other world-renowned BC ski resorts like Whistler and Big White are not. This is because they happen to fall outside the designated CMA and CA boundaries, creating what critics call an unlevel playing field.

This discrepancy allows some resorts to continue courting international investment while their neighbours are cut off. "This is a matter of fairness and consistency," stated Trevor Hargreaves, Senior VP of Government Relations for BCREA. "Including some ski resort areas and excluding others simply by chance really isn't good policy making."

The groups point out that this is not just a BC issue; other major Canadian ski destinations, such as Mont Tremblant in Quebec, are also exempt from the ban. The BCREA and AOIR argue that a simple regulatory amendment could create a blanket exemption for all designated resort municipalities, aligning the policy with what they believe was the government's original intent.

The Economic Chill

The economic stakes for the affected communities are significant. In a resort like Sun Peaks, foreign owners are not just absentee investors; they are an integral part of the tourism economy. Data from the resort municipality shows that foreign owners account for 17% of property ownership, and their properties often form a crucial part of the short-term rental pool needed to accommodate the over 750,000 annual visitors.

Foreign visitors contribute over $50 million annually to the local economy, and the availability of rental accommodations is key to sustaining that influx. By blocking the sale of properties to non-Canadians, the ban restricts the flow of capital that supports the tourism ecosystem and funds the development of new accommodations.

While the ban was created to address housing affordability, advocates argue that the housing market in a resort municipality is fundamentally different from that of a primary residential community. The demand is largely for recreational properties and vacation rentals, not primary homes for a local workforce. Local governments, including the city councils of Kamloops and Vernon, have thrown their support behind the resorts, formally requesting that the federal government grant exemptions.

Pressure is now mounting on Canada's Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, Gregor Robertson, to address the issue. The real estate associations are urging him and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to act swiftly. "Providing an exemption for all ski communities in BC is a simple fix and the right thing to do," Hargreaves asserted. "This is an urgent issue, and it's one that Canada's Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, Gregor Robertson, should get to work on fixing immediately."