Some B.C. ski resorts left out in the cold after ban on foreign buyers

After last year’s particularly dismal ski season, the promise of a snowy, La Nina-kissed winter has skiers across the province excited to hit the slopes. While the weather forecast might be promising, for some of the major ski resorts in B.C.’s interior, the financial forecast is considerably more challenging.

The trouble arises from the federal government’s Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, more commonly known as the foreign homebuyers ban. Originally implemented in 2023, and recently expanded through 2027, the legislation bans the purchase of residential property by foreign nationals in designated areas across the country. In the context of the country’s current housing crisis, the intent of the ban is defendable. The problem, however, is with sloppy implementation and a notable lack of nuance in the legislation.

“Detractors will claim that the market will adjust, but the hole left by international investment is not so easy to fill.”

Currently, the foreign homebuyers ban applies to areas deemed by Statistics Canada as a Census Metropolitan area (CMA) or Census Agglomeration area (CA). In the interior of B.C., this encompasses around nine communities and their contiguous areas. This has created a situation across the interior where several popular ski resorts that benefit greatly from international tourism and property investment have been included under the ban. This significantly impacts the economic viability of both the resort and the accompanying community.

Detractors will claim that the market will adjust, but the hole left by international investment is not so easy to fill. Homes on interior mountains are coveted by Americans, Australians, and numerous other nationalities looking for a winter retreat. For locals a few hours’ drive away, there isn’t the same appeal to purchase these vacation homes. A day trip or weekend outing in rental accommodation will suffice.

“These resort areas primarily serve as recreational destinations rather than hubs for permanent residences.”

As it stands Sun Peaks, Apex Mountain and Silverstar have been included in the Kamloops CMA, Penticton CA and Vernon CA areas respectively. These resort areas are distinct from the municipalities they are in proximity to and have little effect on the local housing market. These resort areas primarily serve as recreational destinations rather than hubs for permanent residences. In fact, all of these ski resort areas are situated a considerable distance away from the nearest major municipality. In the case of Sun Peaks, for example, the resort municipality is approximately a 55-minute drive away from Kamloops. Certainly, the federal government doesn’t feel that a glut of chalets and vacation homes scuttled away from core services and jobs is the solution to our housing issues. If that in fact is the plan, it is a questionable one at best.

“Making policy is an art, not a science, unintended consequences are sure to occur.”

What’s more, the government has shown they understand this and have exempted areas accordingly. For example, Whistler and Mount Tremblant in Quebec have been spared from the foreign buyer’s ban. Other resorts in the interior of the province, such as Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna, have been unaffected due to the simple chance of falling just outside the nearest CMA area. Whether by bureaucratic choice or providence, fairness is lacking. Resorts and their accompanying communities in the interior are no less deserving of economic prosperity than their counterparts in the Lower Mainland or the Laurentians. Luck should not be the defining factor in success.

Making policy is an art, not a science; unintended consequences are sure to occur. That said, it is incumbent on the government to fix problems when they do. As a matter of fairness and good public policy, it is time for the federal government to find some nuance, stop the economic disruption to resort communities in this province and exempt ski resorts inadvertently caught up in this foreign homebuyers ban.