Canadian Snowbirds Set for U.S. Winter Despite Decline

70% of Canadian snowbirds are intending to flock to the U.S this winter, a decrease of only 12% over 2024 and a much smaller decline than expected.

The findings are a result of a Snowbird Advisor survey of over 4,000 Canadian snowbirds in late October 2025 and is in contrast to other statistics on Canadian travel to the U.S which has reported a steep decline in 2025.

“We believe the discrepancy in survey results is due to the fact that our survey focused exclusively on snowbirds who travel each winter to their snowbird destinations, while some other surveys included general travel intentions for all travellers, or Baby Boomers who are not necessarily snowbirds”, said Stephen Fine, President, Snowbird Advisor – an online resource for Canadian snowbirds.

Fine added: “We also learned that over 50% of respondents who spent last winter in the U.S. and are not returning to the U.S. this winter said that they would consider returning to the U.S. in the future.”

In addition, the survey revealed that 23% of respondents intend to spend this winter in international destinations vs. 12% of respondents who spent last winter in international destinations.

“Clearly, the majority of Canadian snowbirds will still be going to the U.S. this winter,” said Fine. “But it does show significant growth in the number of snowbirds travelling to international destinations such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Portugal, Spain, the Caribbean and others.”

However, there’s reason to believe that Snowbird Advisor’s findings may reflect early reporting and may not yet provide a fully accurate picture.

According to BDO Canada’s July 2024 analysis, a 2023 SnowbirdAdvisor report estimated there are more than 1 million Canadian snowbirds. Of the snowbirds who go to the U.S., BDO reports that about half own U.S. real estate.

A survey of 2,500 Canadian adults (Aug 2025) by Royal LePage found that 54% of Canadians who own U.S. property plan to sell their homes in the next year, suggesting a significant portion of those U.S. property–owning snowbirds are now considering leaving the U.S. real estate market.

According to the study, when asked why they want to offload their stateside properties, 35% cited concerns about the current U.S. political administration as their primary motivation. Personal reasons came in at 17%, and 3% were concerned about increasing extreme weather events.

The survey also showed that 62% of respondents said they intend to spend between 3 – 6 months in their winter destinations this year vs. 64% last year, virtually unchanged.