These Fredericton snowbirds are back home — this time for good

Hannah Rudderham · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 19, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Fifteen years ago, Sally Little of Fredericton took implicit her parents' trailer successful Florida, successful the metropolis of Largo, wherever her parents had spent their winters for 2 decades.

But now, Little and her husband, Dave, person decided to extremity their clip arsenic snowbirds successful the aftermath of accrued hostility toward Canadians and a flurry of decisions by U.S. President Donald Trump. 

The past fewer months person been tumultuous, particularly having to permission down the community.

"We made caller Canadian friends, New Brunswick friends we ne'er would person met if it hadn't been for that trailer park. We made galore caller American friends," she said.

Little adjacent taught English arsenic a 2nd connection astatine the Largo library. 

"I would locomotion into that room and conscionable say, 'I'm home.'"

But everything started to change in the wintertime of 2021.

Little said immoderate Americans got upset erstwhile Canadians wore masks, some wrong the parkland and outside, and often bragged astir not getting vaccinations. 

Many of the Canadians successful the parkland had agelong been the organizers of societal activities, specified arsenic spaghetti suppers and pancake breakfasts, but they pulled backmost from that to avoid large gatherings, which Little said caused a backlash.

"All of a sudden, Canadians were clustering a small bit, being a small much cautious astir what we said, which had ne'er happened before," she said.

The archetypal rupture came erstwhile Trump pardoned those progressive with the events of Jan.6, 2021, she said.

Then came the tariffs imposed connected Canada by the U.S., but Little said the Canadians successful the parkland were being blamed for immoderate retaliatory measures.

She said erstwhile some Canadians successful the parkland pushed back and encouraged people to read the quality and amended themselves astir the situation, they were told that quality sources, specified arsenic CNN and NBC, were "fake news."

But the straw that broke the camel's back, said Little, was with the instauration of Trump's enforcement bid called "Protecting the American People Against Invasion," which directed the Department of Homeland Security to "ensure that aliens comply with their work to register" if they intended to enactment successful the U.S. for 30 days oregon longer.

This yet pushed Little to merchantability the trailer.  

She contacted her six siblings and told them her plan.

Everyone instantly told her, "you request to bash this," said Little.

"Once I made that determination we ne'er looked back, we ne'er regretted it, we ne'er questioned ourselves."

In the parkland wherever Little has wintered for truthful many years, she said different Canadians had a akin idea, and about 14 trailers went up for sale. Four of the Canadian sellers were capable to find buyers and won't beryllium back, she said — including her adjacent doorway neighbour successful Fredericton.

Little said she'll miss the amusive they had successful Florida, and the past 3 weeks person been bittersweet and stressful having to accidental goodbye to the American friends they made implicit the years. 

Each winter, Little said the thrust to Largo was ever engaged — jam-packed roads with chap snowbirds. 

But erstwhile driving backmost to Fredericton this past time, crossing 13 states, she lone counted 32 Canadian licence plates.

Entering Maine, she said the deficiency of Canadians was apparent. 

"You spell done Portland, there's nary Canadians, you spell done Bangor, wherever are the Canadians? You spell done Houlton, wherever are the Canadians?"

"[We] got to the borderline astatine Houlton — nary cars, nary trucks, nothing. And the customs serviceman was truthful lovely. 

"She did her small happening with our passports and everything, and past she said, 'Welcome home.' And I burst into tears.

"I person ne'er been truthful gladsome to get backmost crossed the borderline and to beryllium welcomed home."