[prlambert]

I don't think that's totally right. The idea is to give Canadians a leg up vs. foreign buyers (once the immediate 2 year foreign buyer ban expires, I assume). If your operating model is that foreign bidders are driving up the price and winning the marginal bid, then this is effectively a subsidy to allow Canadians to compete with the foreigners. Yes it will drive prices a bit higher and thus transfer more wealth to sellers. But the mix should be different, with more ownership ending up with Canadian purchasers than foreign ones (vs. today).