Early this year, many snowbirds vowed to boycott travelling to the US. The trade war, political tensions, increasingly restrictive border policies and a weak Canadian dollar had made trips far less appealing.
Now, boycott or not, more travellers are heading south this winter than perhaps expected.
Preliminary figures from vacation-rental data firm Key Data show that Canadians have, on average, booked Florida stays for November and December almost a month earlier than in 2024. The data also indicates that travellers are paying a hefty 70% more on average for those stays.
For many snowbirds, the social ties and sense of community they’ve built down south outweigh political discomfort. Tim Wilkin, 73, who owns a condo in Estero, Fla., and lives in Kingston, told The Globe and Mail that he and his wife never seriously considered skipping their trip despite the uncertainty with the US.
“We’ve made close friends, it’s like a winter camp for seniors," Wilkin said.
Larry Vanderveen, 59, said he just wanted to enjoy warmer weather in his later years. He lives just outside Calgary and is planning a trip to California this winter with his wife. “If we wait four years for a potential US administration change before we start snowbirding in the US, we feel like we’d be shortchanging ourselves."
Political tensions between the US and Canada peaked in early 2025, right in the middle of snowbird season, after many travel plans were already set. Open Jaw reported this week that some snowbirds heading south are now being fingerprinted and photographed at the US border.
Stephen Fine, president of Snowbird Advisor, which offers insurance and currency-exchange services, told The Globe and Mail that this winter is “the first season where we’ll really see what the impact is, between the tariffs, the rhetoric around the 51st state and the new requirements to register in the US.”
Changing Trends
Air Canada is seeing signs of shifting behaviour.
During a recent panel discussion, Viktor Spysak, Manager, Sales and Tourism Partnerships, said the biggest new trend is Canadians making last-minute travel decisions and shortening their booking windows.
US routes were scaled back earlier this year and haven't been increased for the winter.
However, Air Canada has added “first-ever” summer 2026 service, including Toronto–San Antonio and new Montreal connections to Columbus and Cleveland, as reported last month by Open Jaw.
