Trump is gunning for Canada—and Canadian homeowners in the U.S. want out

Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney drew a line in the sand about relations with America. “The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over,” he said during a speech on Parliament Hill. 

The same could be said for many Canadian property owners who have—or used to have—second homes and winter escapes in the United States. Anger over the Trump administration’s continued references to the country as the “51st state” and the prime minister as a governor, in addition to the tariffs that have set off a trade war between allies, have led to the beginning of a property sell-off.

This isn’t a small issue for U.S. real estate. Canada has the largest number of distinct investments in U.S. property, representing 13% of foreign buyers. Canada’s $5.9 billion in real estate assets is second only to China. There have been some sell-offs in the past year due to both the declining value of Canadian currency in relation to the U.S. dollar, as well as the increasing cost of U.S. homeownership, including rising insurance and HOA costs. Canadian sellers represented a quarter of foreign home sales in Florida between April 2023 and March 2024, according to the National Realtors Association. 

But U.S.-based brokers who specialize in selling to Canadians, especially in Sun Belt markets popular with snowbirds and second home owners, have seen a significant increase in Canadians selling their property. Anger over Trump’s actions, anxiety over immigrants and travelers being detained, and fear of future restrictions and economic regulations have been driving transactions.

Sheri Dettman, who has been selling properties in Palm Springs, California, since 2007, and whose firm did $50 million in business last year, says typically, when it came to nice homes in the desert, buyers looked for an escape and didn’t discuss politics. But since the Trump administration’s talk of annexing Canada, sales and inquiries from Canadians looking to sell their homes have skyrocketed, and clients have been animated. She has had Canadians call to yell at her for being an American advertising in Canadian newspapers. 

“Within the first two weeks of tariffs talks, I had sellers calling and saying, ‘we’re out of here, Trump has irrevocably damaged the relationship between Canada and the United States,’” she said. “They were very, very emotional. I had a couple this morning call and say they were afraid Trump would put some executive order on their property.”

Quebec-based real estate broker Alexandra DuPont told The Canadian Press she’s extremely busy handling dozens of Canadians who want to sell off their U.S. homes.

Laurie Levine, a dual Canadian-American citizen who sells homes in the Greater Phoenix area, typically handles two or three listings for sale at this time of year. Now he’s juggling 18 Canadian sellers at once and getting calls every day from owners who have had enough. He said Canadians have already started heading home earlier in the season, leading to less crowded and less profitable local businesses. He thinks Canadians may start looking more toward Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

“It might take a long time for America to get its reputation back,” Levine said. 

Investment analysts initially expected 2025 to be a bit of a rebound for foreign investment in U.S. real estate, including expansion into secondary markets like Phoenix, due to a widely shared sentiment that the U.S. economy was doing well and was still a safe haven for capital.

But with increasing anxiety over travel, as well as tariffs and trade issues, these early-year predictions may not play out as planned. Sales figures haven’t shown the full extent of the demand to dump U.S. property, since it typically takes a few months to sell. With many Canadians owning in seasonal markets like Florida and Phoenix, sales will likely stop soon, take a break during the summer, and restart in the fall, so real figures won’t show themselves until later in the year. But anecdotal evidence suggests a shift will take place. 

“My clients are saying we might come back, but not in the next four years, or not,” said Levine. “It’s going to continue on for quite some time. Local businesses are going to be feeling the difference, especially next winter, when half the amount of Canadians come down here.”