Go where the population is growing 5-10% per year (even though it is a small denominator) over chasing year 1 cash flow in a stagnant/declining market.

Property prices determine rental rates, which are determined by population change.

As a foreign buyer, you are to look for 2 things in particular: the temporary foreign ban (which they keep pushing further back) and the source - The foreign purchase ban which applies across the board. yes there are exceptions but if you are not a Canadian tax Resident (which it seems you are), you will need to look for communities where the population is less than 100,000 in general. - Another exception to note on that foreign buyer ban is the number of units/doors for your investment: I believe the magic number is 5+ as this would be considered as commercial Real Estate- In Ontario, you will also have to look our for the Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) which imposes about 25% on the purchase tax.

I'm also looking for stable population and potential appreciation. 

That's the reason there are few successful entrepreneurs, most fail rather quickly, and the rest of the population is working 9 to 5 jobs. 

The consistent population and job growth are driving real estate values along with many companies choosing to move and develop here like Intel, Amazon, Google, Meta, etc.

Significant and sustained population growth leads to demand exceeding current supply, causing prices to rise until there's a rough balance between sellers and buyers.

After the Paradise fire Butte county lose nearly two-thirds of its population.

A young population plus a growing industry makes for good long term investments, but unless you are really scaling the cashflow can be hit or miss. 

Texas added more new residents than any other state over the past year and now has a population of over 31 million people.According to estimates released Dec. 19 by the U.S.