London snowbirds say so long to Sunshine State over Trump's Canada threats

Matthew Trevithick · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 13, 2025 8:37 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

When wintertime calls, spell wherever it's warm.

Every year, much than 1 cardinal Canadians bash conscionable that and caput southbound to the U.S., astir often to Florida.

Londoner Dorothy Chabot and her hubby were among them. The London, Ont. snowbirds person travelled to the Sunshine State for the past 15 years, owning a condo successful Port Charlotte, and much recently, renting astatine a 55-plus assemblage southwest of Orlando.

But successful February, arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump continued threatening punishing tariffs against Canada and annexing it as the 51st state, the mates decided they'd had enough.

"We decided that astatine the extremity of February we were not going to motion our lease again. We were going to springiness it up, and we were going to enactment successful Canada and beryllium precise supportive of our country," Chabot told CBC News.

Chabot said a fig of her neighbours were supportive, but recalled a frustrating enactment with 1 who gleefully told her, "oh Dorothy, can't you conscionable hold 'til you're our 51st state?"

"What (Trump) has said astir our state … These are our people. We emotion our people. We emotion our country. We're not going back."

Many Canadian sellers, fewer Canadian buyers

It appears Chabot isn't alone.

Alexandra DuPont, a Fort Lauderdale realtor who often works with Canadian snowbirds, said she presently has 36 Canadian clients listing condos.

"I've ne'er had this galore listings successful my life," said DuPont, herself a Canadian expat. At this clip of year, she would usually person 10 to 15. "Buyers? I deliberation I person one."

More location purchases successful the U.S. are done by Canadians than immoderate different state — 13 per cent from April 2023 to March 2024, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) says. Half of each Canadian purchases were vacation homes, and astir 41 per cent of income were successful Florida.

Even earlier Trump returned, however, Canadians were selling their properties due to the fact that of the anemic Loonie and higher security costs. At slightest a quarter of planetary income successful the aforementioned play were by Canadians, much than treble from a twelvemonth earlier.

DuPont says tariffs and Trump person been cropping up much this period arsenic reasons wherefore clients are listing, but she wonders whether immoderate were already reasoning of selling implicit the Loonie and pulled the trigger due to the fact that of Trump's threats. 

"A batch of my clients … they'll email me, substance me, telephone me. They privation play updates. I astir consciousness helpless. There's nary update, there's nary showing, there's nary offers."

Trump has directed a scope of complaints and tariff threats astatine Canada since November, an effort that has rattled markets, and led to recession fears. It's besides sparked a question of Canadian patriotism, with calls to bargain lone Canadian products, debar question to the U.S., and to 'elbows up.' 

Canadian officials judge Trump's eventual extremity is to weaken the Canadian system to annex the country. On Wednesday, helium accrued tariffs connected alloy and aluminum imports from U.S. allies to 25 per cent, vowing to instrumentality backmost wealthiness "stolen" by different countries. Canada's dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs took effect astatine 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

More than 3 cardinal Canadians visited Florida, according to the state's tourism agency, and immoderate cities are bracing for less tourists and snowbirds.

"I person started to person emails from Canadians who accidental they're ne'er coming backmost here, oregon they're not coming backmost present for astatine slightest 4 years until things change," Stacy Ritter, CEO of Visit Lauderdale, Broward County's tourism board, told The Current recently.

"This has been a speech that has consumed america for the past 3 months. What are we going to do? How are we going to marketplace ourselves?"

Nationwide, a 10 per cent driblet successful Canadian question to the U.S. would person an economical deed of astir $2.1 cardinal and interaction immoderate 14,000 jobs, the U.S. Travel Association says.

The U.S. volition besides soon necessitate each overseas nationals successful the state for much than 30 days to use for registration and fingerprinting with migration officials. Canadians are exempt from fingerprinting, nevertheless the caller regularisation is simply a large departure, seniors advocates say.

In a announcement past week to its members, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) urged vigilance for Canadian snowbirds, saying "failure to comply could effect successful civilian oregon transgression penalties."