The government is smart enough to realize that private property owners make much better landlords than it would. If you doubt this, then drive by some of the public housing developments around the country - many of them have turned into crime ridden failures.

Knowing this, the government gives some very impressive tax benefits to encourage private investment in Real Estate. Here are a few of them;

Tax Deferral - You can defer taxes owing on the value appreciation of your investment property until you sell, meaning your investment value can grow tax-free year after year, and giving you the benefit of tax-free compound growth.

Tax Free Gain - You also benefit from the “Capital Gain” status of property value appreciation, which means in Canada, according to the CRA legislation, you will be taxed on just 50% of the gain and 50% of your gain is tax free! For further clarification of this, please discuss with your accountant

Deductions - Expenses such as property taxes, mortgage interest, insurance, repairs, etc., relating to the property are deductible.