There is a severe housing shortage in the Canadian province of British Columbia – partially because agricultural land has been protected and preserved by law for fifty years now (which stops cities from turning productive farmland into housing land), and partially because Canada added 1 million people to its 38 million just last year alone.
In the midst of this shortage the province has, for years, been very attractive to offshore investors, who are confident that their money is safe. They especially gobble up condos – most new projects are sold out before construction starts. Many of these condos sit vacant, but others are turned into STR – in either case unavailable to local families. (Just today a regional health authority complained it had difficulty recruiting nurses from outside the province because the housing shortage has driven up the cost of housing.)
Today the provincial government housing minister served notice he was coming after Airbnb – details to follow later this year.