The G&M's own Kathy Tomlinson (who recently won an award) broke the story that foreigners/foreign students were given mortgages and loans while Canadians were/are discriminated against and turned down in Canada by CDN banks themselves:

Canadian banks’ mortgage guidelines favour foreign home buyers 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/vancouver/canadian-banks-mortgage-guidelines-favour-foreign-home-buyers/article31869946/

"Canadian banks allow foreign clients with no credit history, including students, to qualify for uninsured mortgages without proving the sources of their income – a practice that exempts non-Canadians who have money in the bank from the scrutiny domestic borrowers face when buying a home or an investment property."