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The quick read: Ottawa's Budget 2026 proposes to extend the ban on foreign buyers of existing homes to January 1, 2029, while exempting new homes from it. It is a proposal, not law, and the bill and regulations are still to come. Until they arrive, the current ban stands, and BC's own taxes on foreign buyers, including a 20 percent transfer tax and a speculation tax rising to 4 percent in 2027, do not change at all.

Ottawa's Budget 2026, released November 5, proposes a change to Canada's ban on foreign buyers of residential property.

The ban on existing homes would be extended two years, to January 1, 2029.

New homes would be exempt.

That is the proposal, not the law.

The bill and the regulations are still to come, and Ottawa says both will arrive "in short order."

Until they do, nothing changes for a buyer who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

As the law stands today, the whole ban ends on January 1, 2027.

The budget would keep it alive for resale homes and open the door for new ones.

The details that matter most are still missing.

The budget sets no start date for the new-home exemption.

It does not define what counts as a "new" home.

It says nothing about presale contracts signed before the change.

And it does not change who counts as a non-Canadian.

For West Kelowna buyers, that uncertainty has a real address.

Paramount Peak, a new townhome community by Tallus Developments, has its first 11 homes under construction.

Today, a non-Canadian who does not fit an existing exception cannot sign for one or put down a deposit.

The penalty is real: a fine of up to $10,000, and a court can order the home sold.

Anyone who knowingly helps break the ban faces the same fine.

The only step available today is to register interest, which holds no home, no price, and takes no money.

BC's taxes still apply

Even if Ottawa's exemption becomes law, British Columbia's own taxes do not go away.

The province's additional property transfer tax is 20 percent of the buyer's share of fair market value.

It applies to foreign nationals, foreign corporations, and taxable trustees in five regions, including the Regional District of Central Okanagan.

That region includes West Kelowna.

A few exemptions exist, such as a confirmed BC Provincial Nominee buying a principal residence, a one-time exemption.

There is also a refund for a buyer who becomes a permanent resident or citizen within a year of the transfer being registered and meets the province's residence tests.

The speculation and vacancy tax is the second provincial charge.

The City of West Kelowna is a taxable area.

For 2026, the rate is 3 percent of assessed value for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners, and 1 percent for Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are not untaxed worldwide earners.

From January 1, 2027, the foreign owner rate rises to 4 percent.

One federal tax has already gone: the underused housing tax ended, with no tax payable and no return required for 2025 and later years.

Who can already buy

Plenty of people buying from outside BC were never covered by the ban.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents can buy today, wherever they live, and they do not pay BC's 20 percent tax.

A spouse or common-law partner buying with a citizen or permanent resident is also excepted.

Some work permit holders and students qualify under strict conditions, so a lawyer's advice is essential before counting on one.

Protected persons and diplomats are among the other groups outside the ban.

The bigger picture

The exemption is a welcome admission that the ban, sold as a fix for housing affordability, also blocked the new homes the valley needs.

Banning foreign buyers from resale homes did nothing to build a single extra house.

And exempting new homes while BC keeps a 20 percent tax on the same buyers is Ottawa and Victoria pulling in opposite directions.

The test now is whether the bill arrives quickly, with a clear definition of "new," and whether the province follows Ottawa's lead on supply.

Until then, the message for buyers is simple: the rules have not changed yet, and the taxes have not changed at all.

Sources: Tallus Developments, November 10, 2026, citing the Department of Finance Canada, Budget 2026; Government of British Columbia. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.