On April 19, 2021, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled in the House of Commons the Liberal Government’s first federal budget in more than two years, A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience (“Budget 2021”).  To discourage the underutilization of Canadian housing by non-resident owners, Budget 2021 proposes a new national 1% annual tax, beginning in 2022, on the value of non-resident, non-Canadian owned residential real estate considered to be vacant or underused. The details of the proposed tax will be addressed through a consultation process.  In addition, Budget 2021 proposes to relax the conditions for the GST rebate on new housing where two or more individuals buy a new home, effective after April 19, 2021. For a discussion of these tax measures as well as others in Budget 2021, please see McCarthy Tétrault's Budget 2021 Commentary.