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Cape Coral Reclaims Crown as Top Florida Draw for Canadian Snowbirds
A modest rebound in Canadian home-shopping interest suggests last year's cross-border chill may be thawing, even as broader travel numbers to the Sunshine State stay below pre-pandemic levels.
Published: July 28, 2026
Cape Coral, the southwest Florida city nicknamed the "Venice of America" for its extensive canal network, has reclaimed its position as the top U.S. destination for Canadian home shoppers, according to new Realtor.com figures for the first quarter of 2026.
Canadians made up 71% of all international demand for listings in Cape Coral, edging out Naples, Phoenix, North Port and Tampa for the top spot among U.S. metros. Overall, Canadian interest in American properties rose 3% in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2025, with Canadians accounting for 37.8% of all international traffic on Realtor.com, up from 34.8% a year earlier.
The uptick follows a sharp pullback in 2025, when Canadians' cross-border home searches collapsed following U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and remarks by President Trump about Canada becoming the 51st state. Redfin recorded year-over-year declines in Canadian search traffic in every month of 2025, ranging from a 3.6% dip in January to a 34.2% plunge in April alone.
Despite the recovery, current figures remain well below 2024 levels, when Canadians represented 41.8% of all international traffic on Realtor.com. Broader travel data tells a similar story: Canadians accounted for just 6.5% of Florida's roughly 143 million visitors in 2025, down from a larger share in 2024, and airlines including Air Transat have trimmed routes to Florida destinations such as Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
Some Florida destinations are courting Canadian visitors directly. Resorts in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, have begun offering Canadians discounted rates for extended stays, while Florida's tourism board has traveled to Toronto to try to win back visitors. Still, snowbirds remain a bright spot, with Fort Lauderdale emerging as a top spring break destination for Canadian travelers even as overall cross-border tourism works its way back from last year's steep decline.
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