A large welcome sign that greets visitors upon entering Florida on the southbound I-95 interstate, on March 11.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
This is part of a series of postcards as The Globe and Mail travels across the U.S. this March Break to find out whether Canadians are still heading to popular destinations despite the trade war
Life in Diana Brisebois’s mobile home community used to be a lot more fun. Years ago, there were always social events and dances at the clubhouse.
Her little park in St. Petersburg, Fla., used to be home to many snowbirds. Today, Ms. Brisebois, originally from Montreal, says her next-door neighbour is the only other Canadian left. The Canadians were the ones spearheading the community events, and these days things are quiet.
The mobile home park is still friendly – everyone waves at you as you walk or drive by – but after 20 years of vacationing here, Ms. Brisebois is leaving to permanently resettle in Sudbury.
She is not too excited about returning to Ontario winters.
“I’m going to miss this place – it’s my home,” she said.
While she made her disdain for U.S. President Donald Trump abundantly clear – “I’m not fond him, not one bit” – the high U.S. dollar and the rising cost of living in Florida are her primary reasons for leaving.
A man looks at real estate listings in Dunedin, Fla., on March 13.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Over The Globe and Mail’s last days of March Break in Florida, we spoke with people in mobile home parks to see how vacation life is changing for them now that many Canadians are boycotting U.S. goods and travel amid the trade war the U.S. is waging on Canada.
Richard Poirier, also from Sudbury, said he loved coming to Florida twice a year with his wife in an RV. Just two years ago, they bought a new one so they could ensure another decade of travel down south.
Instead, the vehicle is now for sale: this year, they cancelled their autumn and spring trips to Florida.
The community they stayed in near Tampa, Fla., was still lively and enjoyable, but they simply can’t accept the political rhetoric about annexing Canada and don’t feel safe in the U.S. any more.
“At one point, we thought about buying property there, and we’re so happy that we didn’t,” said Mr. Poirier, who is planning to travel to Mexico instead in the colder months.
Toward the end of our trip, photographer Fred Lum and I drove to Naples, the farthest south we’d reach into the U.S. Here, the number of luxury cars on the road seemed to increase, and we visited gated communities to speak to Canadian homeowners for an upcoming story.
Throughout the final couple of days, we took part in what may be America’s least favourite past-time: sitting in traffic.
The streets were jam-packed throughout the coast near Tampa, and visitors from all over the U.S. for the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
Traffic moved at a snail’s pace on I-75 out of Florida. There were plenty of licence plates from northern states such as Massachusetts and Michigan, but we only counted three Canadian plates as we drove through Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky on our way back to Canada.
Throughout our trip we heard from dozens of Canadians who are changing their travel plans. The vast majority hope their decision to turn away from the U.S. will be felt across America. In our conversations with U.S. business groups and people, there was plenty of concern from locals, but nobody said they had noticed a sudden drop in visitors.
I left America wondering: if Canadians are abandoning their annual trips south, will Americans even notice?