Does the federal foreign buyer ban apply to permanent residents buying property in Ontario?

No - permanent residents are not considered "non-Canadians" for the purposes of the federal ban, so the restriction simply does not apply to them at all when buying residential property in Ontario or anywhere else in Canada. This is a foundational part of how the Act is structured: it defines who counts as a non-Canadian, and permanent residents, alongside Canadian citizens, fall outside that definition entirely rather than needing to rely on one of the Act's specific exemptions.

This distinction matters because permanent residency is a different status from a temporary work or study permit, which is where more of the genuine complexity and specific exemption conditions come into play, addressed in a related question. A permanent resident buying property in Ontario deals with the same considerations any Canadian buyer would - Ontario's land transfer tax, financing, and closing mechanics - without needing to navigate the federal ban's exemption framework at all.

If your status is permanent residency, the federal ban itself is not something you need to work through, though it is still worth confirming your specific documentation and status with a lawyer at the outset of any purchase.