My name is Alex Bezborodko. I am the owner of this site and I am Canadian.
When browsing different Internet message boards (most of them US centric), I found many postings from Canadians, who are asking the same questions again and again.
Can Carleton Sheets course be applied to Canadian market?
Will creative REI techniques work in Canada?
Do you know of any good Canadian REI courses?
I suspect that nobody can answer these questions right now. But I think I know a way of solving this problem. Let’s combine our knowledge and create a document that will outline all differences between US and Canadian Real Estate rules and laws.
The best way to find what can work in Canada is to find what can not work.
I want to start with some limited pieces of knowledge that I have and I hope everybody will join me in this quest for truth :-)

Mortgages.
1. Down payment for the conventional mortgage in Canada is 25%, compared to US 20%
2. U.S. mortgages are compounded monthly while Canadian mortgages are compounded semi-annually. To see the difference check US/Canadian Mortgage calculator on my old Ontario web site: http://ontariofsbo.com/resources/us_can_mort.htm
3. Mortgage interest on the primary residence is tax deductible in US and not tax deductible in Canada.
4. The usual amortization period for the US mortgage is 30 years, compared to 25 years in Canada.
5. In the US, the interest rate is usually set once for the whole amortization period. In Canada, the mortgage interest rate is locked for 3-5-7 years and at the end of this period you need to re-qualify again.
6. “Due on Sale” clause. In US lenders are limited in enforcing of this clause by Garn-St. Germain act. According to the A. Silverstain’s book “The perfect mortgage”, lenders in Canada can include in the mortgage document not only the “due on sale” clause, but also ‘due on encumbrance” and “due on negotiation”. So beware!
7. In some US states Mortgage is used as a security instrument when buying the home. In other states lenders use a Deed of Trust instead of Mortgage. In Canada only the Mortgage is used.

Tax sales.
In the US, in some states you can buy tax lien certificates and in other states you can bid for the property in an auction. Tax sales in Canada are usually done by public auction, or it may be arranged by tender or sealed bids (no tax liens!). Some good info about tax sales in Canada you can find at http://www.taxsaleproperties.com. Also you can subscribe to the mailing list with info about Ontario tax sales, but it doesn’t make any sense now, because you can get the same info for free from the Internet, reading “The Ontario Gazette” online.

Foreclosures.
US: Foreclosures are usually used in the Mortgage states, and Power of sale is used in the Deed of Trust states.
Canada: Ontario is a Mortgage province, but Power of Sale language is usually recorded in the Mortgage document.
Basic info about Foreclosure procedures for the different Canadian provinces you can find at: http://www.foreclosures.ca

Terminology.
“Deed” in the US is called “Transfer/Deed of Land” in Ontario
“Installment Land Contract” in US is called “Agreement for Sale” in Ontario (thanks Doug).

This is it for now.
Everybody is welcome to add more information or fix my mistakes.

Alex