Canadians are making a mass exodus of Southwest Florida and now businesses on our Gulf Coast say they're feeling the impact.
This comes as the U.S. clamps down on Canadian visits requiring background checks and fingerprints if they plan to stay more than 30 days in Florida.
The Canadian flag is flies proudly next to the U.S. flag at the Heritage Community in North Fort Myers. It's to represent the dozens of Canadians who call this home however many Canadian’s say they’re considering selling their properties and not returning to Florida and some businesses say they’re already feeling the impact.
It's estimated each year more than 60,00 Canadians flock to Florida each year.
One woman named Susan is Canadian but didn’t feel comfortable giving her last name as she fears Canadians could become targets amid the politics surrounding the two countries.
“I live here six months. This is my home but I’m leaving April 2 nd ,” Susan said.
She and a group of Canadian friends who came to visit say they're upset with the way President Trump is portraying them and their country.
“We don't want to be the 51st state but we just want to be very good allies and wants things to go back to the way they were,” said Canadian Janet Rockefeller.
The Presement family resides in Fort Myers each winter and now regrets it.
“The truth of the matter is if I hadn't prepaid everything and wasn't here and your weather wasn’t so damn nice. I'd go home now,” stated Barry Presement.
He and his wife Ruth said they have no plans to return to Fort Myers next winter.
“For sure it won't be here. We'll go elsewhere,” Ruth stated.
Their son Brian Presement had even considered retiring in Southwest Florida.
“We thought about purchasing a home in Florida but now we may reconsider that and Mexico is looking quite appealing,” Brian said.
Businesses too say they’re feeling like this are having an impact on them.
“It's not only having a negative impact on tourism market but business as whole,” said Cole Peacock.
Peacock owns Seed and Bean and fears tariffs and uncertainty will make things worse.
“You need those extra visits to kick that profit margins to another level,” Peacock said.
Many Canadians tell me they're going to take a wait and see approach and decide later this year whether to return or maybe put their homes up for sale.