14-04-2025
Why these B.C. snowbirds want out of Palm Springs, and why the California city needs them to stay
Phil Briddon is living the Palm Springs dream.
'The swimming pool is 10 feet away, the pickle ball court is 30 feet away, it's 89 degrees Fahrenheit, I'm looking at the mountains, my chocolate Lab is snoozing on the grass, and my wife Linda is on a lounger,' said Briddon, 66, a retired mortgage and investment specialist from Salmon Arm.
That's all about to end.
At the end of the month, Briddon plans to pack up his personal effects, return to Canada and start thinking about other places to go next year: Mexico, Costa Rica, Portugal, Ibiza.
Briddon and his wife have called Palm Springs their winter home since 2008. They're among the Canadians that winter in Palm Springs every year, popping down for all or part of a snowbird season that runs from January to April.
Now they have decided to call it quits.
'At some point you realize you've got to do your part,' said Briddon. 'We don't want to spend money in a country that doesn't respect us and acts with dishonesty.'
Briddon said tariff tensions, a worsening political climate and new Department of Homeland Security rules that require all foreign nationals, including Canadians, who plan to stay in the U.S. for 30 days or longer to apply for registration have all played a part.
New banners in downtown Palm Springs say it all: Don't go.
The banners are as red as a Canadian flag, featuring the slogan 'Palm Springs loves Canada.' The banners hanging from the city's iconic green street lanterns feature a Maple Leaf inside a heart.
Palm Springs Mayor Ron De Hart said: 'The banners are a way to send a positive message to Canadians.'
De Hart said the Palm Springs community understands why Canadians might not choose to return.
'They are making a political stand, and we would not stand in the way of that,' he said. 'We would just remind Canadians that the Palm Springs they fell in love with is still here. We are not Washington, D.C. We are still diverse and welcoming and waiting for you to come back next year.'
Palm Springs is on the western edge of the Coachella Valley in California. According to a 2021 study done by Visit Greater Palm Springs, Canadians own seven per cent of second homes in the valley, far more than any other country outside the U.S. A 2017 study found that 303,600 Canadians visited the valley that year, spending more than US$236 million, and impacting every sector of the economy.
De Hart said the potential economic impact of an exodus of Canadian snowbirds could lead to a loss of about 2,000 jobs in the Greater Palm Springs area.
'If there is not a return of Canadians next year, It will have a huge impact,' he said.
Palm Springs realtor Paul Kaplan said he has fielded 'a few' calls from Canadians inquiring about selling their local homes, and rental realtors have reported to him that some aren't renewing their leases for next season.
'This is not Palm Springs. This is Trump,' said Kaplan. 'Most of the people down here like Canadians, they are good neighbours, they've always been part of the community. We don't want to see them go.'
Briddon and his wife have a group of friends in Palm Springs as tight as family: 'They all said we understand if you choose not to come back.'
'Our friends are all very upset, they are embarrassed and (ticked) off in the extreme about what this (U.S.) government is doing,' said Briddon.
Briddon feels that economically Palm Springs will weather the storm: 'Palm Springs is an extremely affluent part of the United States. They will be fine.'
One bright side?
'It's easier to get a place down here right now,' said Briddon.
dryan@
Opinion: Trade war demands a bold vision amid B.C.'s affordability crisis
B.C. halts sales of all American liquor in retaliation to U.S. tariffs
