I live in Toronto.  The only property that receives special tax treatment is principle residence in that they aren't subject to capital gains tax.  These properties are paid for with after tax dollars.  If you want to talk about foreign ownership and citizens of convenience I can agree with you.  I lived through the recession of the early 1980's when interest rates hit 18% on mortgages and through the worst recession since the great depression for Toronto in the early 1990's.  You will find that Canadians take their mortgage debt very seriously and default rates were still very low.  CMHC raised the cost of insurance rates in March but take note that they didn't keep the money to cover potential defaults instead they transferred $3Billion to the federal government--go figure.