Sask. snowbirds selling vacation home in Arizona, say they can no longer live in Trump's America

CBC

26-02-2025

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Dale Botting has spent the past 45 winters travelling to sunny Arizona to escape Saskatchewan winters and enjoy the warm weather, golf and friends he's made at his desert vacation home.
But this winter will be his last.
Botting has listed his home in Chandler, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, that has been in his family since his dad purchased it 45 years ago.
Botting said he could have dealt with the weak Canadian dollar and has resisted the urge to cash in on his home's appreciated value over the years, but he could no longer live in Donald Trump's America.
"It's this Trump regime and this cultism," Botting told The 306 host Peter Mills from his Arizona home office.
Botting, a Saskatoon business leader, and former deputy minister and CEO of Enterprise Saskatchewan, said he's among the first of his friends to sell out of the snowbird dream.
But he believes others will soon follow and that it's best to get out while housing prices are still stable.
"As an ethical investor, I just don't like what I'm seeing. I don't like to invest in governments that are becoming more authoritarian and more imperialistic and we certainly see that."
The decision comes with mixed emotions. Botting and his wife Rose still love to golf and have built a good community in Chandler, including many American friends.
But Botting said he wants to fight the looming trade war from Canadian soil.
That's something he's uniquely equipped to do as a former head of the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership.
"I worry about folks who are watching this increasing authoritarianism kick in almost every bloody night. The last 30 days have started to feel like 30 years."
He's not the only Canadian that feels that way.
Arizona real estate agents say Canadians are bailing out of the American market in record numbers, partly driven by the weak Canadian dollar and the chance to cash in on their home's appreciated value.
But for many, it's Trump's constant needling of Canadians through tariff threats or suggesting Canada should become the 51st state.
"They've been feeling bullied and the pinch of the Canadian dollar," said Laurie Lavine, a realtor in Phoenix, Ariz.
Lavine has an appreciation for the current Canadian sell off. He was born and raised in Winnipeg, holds dual citizenship and has lived in Phoenix for the past 16 years selling real estate.
"The bullying is kind of the last straw that broke the camel's back, and seven out of my 10 listings are for that reason alone."
Lavine said other realtors are experiencing the same surge of Canadians selling off their Arizona properties because they are fed up with Trump.
"In all my 27 years as a realtor, I've never really experienced this before," said Lavine, who sold real estate in Alberta before moving to Arizona.
One accountant that Lavine works with to help Canadians navigate the tax implications of selling American property is so busy he can't see new clients for two weeks, Lavine said.
"Normally I can get a client in to see him within a couple of days."
Lavine said most people he speaks with are puzzled by Trump's threats against Canada, and some worry the threats of tariffs or annexation are just the start of what Trump could do.
"My clients are fearful that in addition to tariffs they might decide to put an extra tax on a non-resident owning a property down here so many have decided to cash out," he said.
"They've just had enough."