Canada’s snowbirds reconsider calling America their second home

Trade tensions and a war of words have caused many Canadians to avoid travel to the US. Some are weighing whether to sell vacation homes in the US, as well.

Sharon Savoy, a 65-year-old retiree from just outside of Toronto, had planned a typical three-month stay at her vacation home in Miami earlier this month. But then she abruptly decided to put the trip on hold, and now she wonders when she’ll ever go back to her second home. “I should be there right now,” Savoy told CNN. “But we’re trying to debate whether or not it’s a good idea to go.” Savoy is one of the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who make their home in warmer parts of the United States during Canada’s colder months. In fact, Canadians are the top foreign buyers of US properties — making up 13% of all home purchases in 2024, mostly concentrated in Florida and Arizona — according to a July report from the National Association of Realtors. But as trade tensions grow between the two countries, many Canadians have taken the conflict to heart, loudly booing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at sporting events and boycotting US-made products. Some Canadian snowbirds are reconsidering their lives in the United States altogether. US-based Realtors in Arizona and Florida told CNN they are fielding calls from Canadians looking to sell their homes, and recent data shows Canadian tourism to the United States has slowed to a trickle. Stephen Fine, the president of Snowbird Advisor, a Canadian company that provides real estate, legal and insurance guidance to Canadians who travel south for the winter, said many of his company’s members feel “angry, upset, disappointed and frustrated.” “A number of them are considering alternative destinations to the US next year. Some want to sell their US properties,” Fine said.