The Current - Why this Canadian snowbird is selling up and quitting Florida

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

Manitoban snowbird Laurie Fischer is selling his condo in Florida, in part because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and annexation against Canada. Matt Galloway talks to Fischer, as well as Florida motel owner Richard Clavet, who thinks that the pushback from Canadians is an overreaction.

Larry Driscoll confessed to a murder that he swears he did not commit. And yet in 2015, Driscoll found himself in a police station describing the crime. And there was a confrontation in the vehicle. I think she was trying to take my billfold and I went to defend myself to try to push her out of the car. I'm Kathleen Goltar and this week on Crime Story, the interrogation that sent an innocent man to prison. Find Crime Story wherever you get your podcasts.

This is a CBC podcast. Hello, it's Matt here. Thanks for listening to The Current, wherever you're getting this podcast. Before we get to today's show, wonder if I might ask a favor of you if you could hit the follow button on whatever app you're using There is a lot of news that's out there these days We're trying to help you make sense of it all and give you a bit of a break from some of that news, too So if you already follow the program, thank you

And if you have done that maybe you could leave us a rating or review as well The whole point of this is to let more listeners find our show and perhaps find some of that information That's so important in these really tricky times. So thanks for all of that Appreciate it and on to today's show and now the weather forecast the temperature in Fort Lauderdale, Florida This morning is a mostly sunny 24 degrees Meanwhile much of Eastern Canada is heading into another deep freeze this weekend And so you could understand why some people would flee south if they could. And yet things are tense between Canada and

the United States right now. Canadians are frustrated over Donald Trump's threats of crippling tariffs and annexation. And one of the places where those feelings are coming to a head is Florida. That's where hundreds of thousands of Canadians go to escape winter. But now some of those snowbirds are saying they

have had enough of the state. Lori Fisher has owned a condo there for years. He decided to sell it this winter. He's in Clearwater, Florida, where he's spending a few more weeks before he says goodbye for good. Laurie, good morning. Good morning. How are you this morning? I'm well. You're in Florida, so it's warmer than where I am. How long have you been going south in the winter? Well, I'm 70 years old now and I've been coming here since I was about five or six years old. My parents moved into this complex in 1980 and I bought into their condo in 2005. So I've actually owned for 20 years, but basically have been coming all of my life. It's been like a second home to me. I was going to say, I mean, you have a deep attachment to that state and life down there.

Very much so. I've loved coming here for many, many years and it's gotten tougher, primarily because of the weakened Canadian dollar. The cost of upkeep of our condo is over $20,000 a year. That's basically as the dollar gets weaker, it gets more expensive. We're using it five, six months of the year, but we pay taxes year round. Travel insurance says I get older is very expensive. Our HOA fees are jumping up. So again, it's just getting very expensive to live here. How much does politics have to do with the fact that you're getting out of Florida as well?

Oh, I think next to the weakened Canadian dollar, I think the political rhetoric, the uncertainty, the divisiveness has really grown down here. I mean, I've been coming all of my life and I've just noticed, especially in the last, I would say, two, three, four years, it's getting very, I think very tense, not so much against snowbirds. I think the whole attitude towards immigrants has really deepened and it's just, I would say it's uncomfortable. I mean, you must have close friends down there

that are American. Do you talk politics with them? You know, it's funny you say that, Matt. Basically, my wife and I have very close friends here, lifelong friends down here and we said, look, we love you, we're always going to love you, but let's not talk politics. And most of our very close friends don't bother. We are in a Republican area, so many, many people down here believe in Trump. I think I've run into a lot of people that voted for him and are regretting it because of the political rhetoric that is coming out on a daily basis.

Most people down here just think it's an absolute joke what he says about Canada, because they do love Canadians down here. But since we've sold, I've given my very good real estate at least three or four leads. People have come up to me, asked me about my real estate transactions and they're leaving. There are a lot of people leaving. It's just because of what's going on. Have you been on the sharp end of any, you know, feelings from Americans down there when they find out that you're Canadian? And I think of, you know, Canadians booing the U S anthem, um, beating up on,

on, on the American hockey team, for example, how does that go? Oh, it definitely, you know, I, I sing the national anthems down here each month to about 200 people. And, uh, uh, last month I said, you know, I was disheartened by hearing Canadians booing the American and the Americans booing the Canadian national anthem. I said, look, politicians come and go, but the friendship between the two countries is going to remain. And I really believe that the rhetoric will die down once you know who I tend to call him, the orange fluff.

You know, I don't know what's going to happen. But I did have one incident. Most people, I wear a hat right now that says Canada is not for sale as a Canadian flag on it. And most Americans absolutely love it. I had one incident where I was walking one of my puppies, I guess about two weeks ago, and these two older ladies came to me and frowned at me. They were walking the other way and they said, are you one of those Canadians that's leaving? And I said, yes, as a matter of fact, I am.

They said, well, you're leaving at the wrong time because we're going to make America great again. And Biden messed up the whole thing and Donald we're going to make America great again and Biden messed up the whole thing and Donald Trump is going to save us and you know when you get into a situation like that the best thing to do is smile, have a good day and walk away and that's exactly what I did. Pete It's a big decision to sell a place that you've been down at going to for that long. I mean, as you said, presidents come and go and administrations come and go. Do you worry that you're acting a bit too rashly?

I'm sorry, I missed the last part of the question. Do you worry that you're making a decision that you might regret down the road? No, I think there's a variety of reasons that we've made the decision. My wife and I have had serious discussions for a couple of years. As I mentioned, the Canadian dollar and political rhetoric, my health is not the best and the healthcare down here is not what it is back home. There's all sorts of considerations. I would never say never that we're never going to come back, but I think for now we've made the right decision.

Now would I say that I'm completely happy? No, I'm very sad. I'm leaving some very close friends and a situation that I've grown to love. As I said, Florida has been a second home to me and I love it down here. I absolutely love it. So I know that when it comes to the last week, I will be very sad. It's going to be very difficult because a lot of the things that I'm doing are for the last time. I've done them for years. A lot of the people that I'm seeing will be for the last time. They're getting, they're even older than I am. And

you know that you're saying goodbye for good. So yeah, it's going to be very difficult, but I think my wife and I are very happy with the decision. I think our kids, well, I should say our young adults, understand it fully. And we've just decided now is the best time. And in retrospect, after the sale, with what's going on, there's no doubt we've made the right decision. As we see more and more condos down here going up for sale and more and more Canadians are leaving.

And also, many of our friends who come down to Florida every year are just not coming down anymore. They've just decided it's just not worth it at this point. Laurie, it's really good to talk to you. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Well, thank you for your time. Laurie Fisher is a Manitoban who winters in Florida. We reached him in Clearwater, Florida. It's not just snowbirds. Lots of Canadians are canceling vacations to Florida. Richard Clavitt owns Richard's Motel and other lodgings in Hollywood,

Florida, which is about halfway between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. He's originally from Quebec. He's a dual citizen. Richard, good morning to you. Good morning. What are you hearing from Canadians who have decided not to come and stay with you this year because of the political environment? Well, there's a few fewer less reservation this year and obviously it's about this.

There's one guy that I find out that he abandoned his deposit and that shoes not to come this way for that particular reason. And to my surprise, uh, he went to Cuba instead. How much was his deposit? And like about a thousand dollars. A thousand dollars. That's a lot of money to leave on the table. Yeah, that's like, that's, that, that was amazing.

He, uh, Lily told us because, uh, the Trump's policies, he decided not to come this year and he had no problem to, uh, abandon his deposit and choose to go to Cuba. What do you say to people who are staying away in protest because they don't like the policies of the US president? It's, they're bad. It's just like, I don't know, it's still sunny, still beautiful, weather is perfect. It's just like, last night I was at an event

and there were like about 350 Canadians enjoying a Canadian performer, mostly from Quebec. And actually I was with a couple from Ontario, and they all had a great time. Everything was beautiful. You've called your community Little Quebec. And I mean, there are a lot of people from Quebec who come down there. There are Quebec magazines. You have a poutine food truck, which I can imagine is a taste of home as well.

Do people talk politics down there? Not much. It's just like, I would say like, even like on my side, my, my family, my children, uh, no one really, no, no one really talks about what's going on with those tariffs that Trump is talking about imposing. It's just like, it's very minimal.

What about for you? You're, you are an American citizen. Um, you voted for Donald Trump. Is that right? Oh yes. Yeah. But you're also a Canadian too. I mean, how do you feel about how he's

acting towards this country? He's talking about us becoming the 51st state. He's talking about these tariffs that might destroy the Canadian economy. How does that strike you? The, I think the tariffs are only imposed on Americans that buy Canadian goods and technically tariffs are penalties basically to the people

that can end up by paying more. So that's like kind of a self-inflicted penalty that should not bother Canadians that much about those tariffs. The Canadian economy, people are talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost because of these tariffs and there will be a real impact here.

The jobs going to be lost only if people stop buying, but Americans are are gonna keep on buying. Doesn't matter if there's tariff or not. I think it happened on the first Trump term. He had tariff on the wood and the thing, on the aluminum and stuff like that. And all those companies in Canada were selling more than ever at that time because the economy was great.

So you don't feel any divided loyalties, if I can put it that way, between Canada and the United States? No, not really. I think the tariff that they might impose, it might impose, and the condition was more like, hey, let's clean our backyards, let's make sure that our country's a drug-free, that there's no drugs coming in from Vancouver or from

the East Side, or let's keep our country clean and safe so there's no drugs going across and affecting our communities. But hey guys, if you don't do that, I'm going to penalize the Americans by charging them 25% on all the goods from Canada, which to me is kind of a little selfish because he's really punishing Americans, not Canadians. You spoke with a CBC reporter a few days ago, and then on your business Facebook page, there were a bunch of angry comments from people who were upset by some of the things you said. They were saying, the commenters, this Canadian would not stay at your place if it was the last

place on earth. Some of the people said enjoy your Trumpian bankruptcy and that Trump supporters deserve to see their businesses go under. Does that kind of stuff bother you when you hear that from Canadian customers? It does bother me a lot, but I guess I respect their way of thinking, but I have my own way of thinking as well.

I heard one Canadian here that she was wondering, but why did people voted for Trump? The great majority of Americans voted for Trump, they wanted Trump, they're happy with him. They're happy with everything that is going on right now. He's making things good and great again. It's just like, and then when you look what's going on on the Canadian side, is they want to self-inflict themselves

with tariffs on their side as well. That to me is just like, wow, that's going to be terrible for Canada if you self-punish yourself. I have to let you go, but do you worry that your business is going to take a permanent hit because of what's going on or do you think this will bounce back? Not at all. We're going to fill up with Americans if there's some gaps.

But what I see here is all the Canadians that I have here don't talk about politics much. They all enjoy the place. They're gonna have a good time. Next year, you're gonna have minus 40 degrees in the wintertime and things gonna calm down. Things gonna be greater and more beautiful here and people is going

to keep them coming back. Richard, it's good to talk to you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Richard Clavitt is the owner of Richard's Motel lodgings. He's in Hollywood, Florida. Canada is facing a near unprecedented set of

political challenges right now. I'm JB Poisson and on Frontburner, the Daily News podcast that I host, we're covering those stories five days a week. We try and bring clarity to Donald Trump's overt hostility to our country and how that has thrown a wrench into our looming federal election. So if you're looking for a show to help guide you through an increasingly chaotic world, find and follow Frontburner wherever you get your podcasts. There's some people in the tourism sector of that state that are far more world. Find and follow Frontburner wherever you get your podcasts.

There's some people in the tourism sector of that state that are far more concerned than Richard would be about Canadians staying away. Stacey Ritter is the CEO of Visit Lauderdale. It's the tourism board for Broward County. Stacey, good morning to you. Good morning. I'm not sure how good this interview is going to be. I'm kind of speechless about your last guess. Okay. So what struck you that would leave you speechless? Gosh, I'm not quite sure where to start. First of all, I would take issue with the fact that most Americans are happy with what's going on here. I mean, if you look at poll numbers, Trump is underwater, but I didn't really come on to talk about Trump specifically, but tourism and how it might impact tourism. So tell me more about that.

Anecdotally, you will hear from Canadians who say, I'm not going to the United States. We're going to go to Mexico or Cuba or to the Dominican Republic instead. What are you hearing from Canadians who have decided not to come to Florida this winter? Well, I've started to get emails. I've lived here for 50 years in Fort Lauderdale. And, you know, winter's not winter without the beloved snowbirds from our northern island and our greatest friend, Canada. So we're hoping it's not different, but I have started to receive emails from Canadians who say they're never coming back here or they're not coming back here for at least four years until things change. You've said that getting those emails

was a gut punch. It is. As I said, I've lived here for so long and seeing Canadian license plates in the winter is just part of the fabric of the community here. And you know, my community hasn't changed. I would say to your guests in Clearwater, come to Southeast Florida because we're not that. We are completely different. We are a diverse community. I live in Broward County. Two million people live here. 170 nations are represented by those two million people speaking 148 languages. Our tagline is everyone under the sun because we welcome everyone under the sun here and we will continue to do so. We're not changing. No matter what happens, we are not changing. How big of a hit do you think this is for your industry? According to the US Travel Association, a 10%, just a 10% reduction in Canadian

travel could mean 2 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 jobs in the United States. And Florida would be the hardest hit given the fact that Canadians go down there more than any other state. Absolutely, which is why I'm speechless when someone says it's not going to have an impact or it shouldn't have an impact or they don't talk politics. I mean, this has been a conversation that has consumed us for the past three months.

What are we going to do? How are we going to market ourselves? How do you market yourselves in the face of that, in the face of a president who says that Canada isn't a real country and that we could just erase a border and become part of the United States and that would be better for everyone? How do you market yourself to Canadians who might be offended by that? Well, as I said, we are who we are.

We are everyone under the sun and we're not changing. We have pushed back on the cultural war agenda for a very long time, in part because it's the right thing to do, but also the economics. I mean, tourism is our number one industry here in Broward County. We saw five years ago during the pandemic when tourists stopped coming, people lose their jobs.

And for us, while our mission is to bring people here to visit and experience us, our calling is to keep them employed. And so marketing and promoting this destination so that people can work and put food on the table and have dignity and respect from that work is the number one priority for us. So we will continue to market and promote ourselves as an open, welcome community. When you come here, you will see open hearts and open minds. We firmly believe and always will that travel changes people's perspectives.

When Canadians come here, they see Americans who are friendly and welcoming, who want them here, who want their business, who want to be friends with them, and that's going to continue here in Broward County. We aren't going to change. Let me ask you, we just have a minute and a half or so, so let me ask you a couple of quick things. One is, I mean, Americans are diverse and people have all sorts of different opinions, but there are many Canadians who are exercised by what's going on and outraged by what's happening

in the United States. Is there a sense that Americans are paying attention to the outrage coming from the North? Oh, absolutely. Really? We are, absolutely, oh yeah, certainly my circle is, but we are, you know but we tend to pay attention and we tend to critically think about what's going on

and try to play it like a chess game. Like what's the next move and what's the next two moves and three moves and four moves and how are we going to counteract what is happening? Absolutely we do that. It's almost March break. And so what would you say to Canadians who are on the fence about coming to Florida right now?

They're tired of minus whatever temperatures and this mountain of snow that's in front of their house, but they're worried about all the things we're talking about. What would you say to them? Yes, but if you've been here before, if you've been to Fort Lauderdale area before, if you've been to Hollywood or any of the cities in Broward County, you know who we are. We are the same people we have always been. As I sit in my backyard, looking out at my boat and the water with what will be a 75 degree Fahrenheit day. You have to stop. You're hurting me now. We're the same people. We will welcome you. We want you to come here. We are your friends,

we are your neighbors, we are your greatest ally and for us, for us here in Brad County, that's not changing. Stacey, good to talk to you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Stacey Ritter is the CEO of Visit Lauderdale. She was in, as you heard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Are you rethinking your travel plans? Are you thinking, you know what, I'm not going to go to the United States now or perhaps for the next four years? Or are you willing to, as Stacey said, see that there are many different kinds of Americans and that a government perhaps does not represent all of its people. Let us know. You can email us, The Current, at cbc.ca.