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Greg Bonnell

Reporter

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Americans threatening to move to Canada in the wake of Donald Trump winning the White House are apparently sizing up our real estate in increasing numbers.

A new report from Royal LePage says American-based web traffic was up 41 per cent in the last three months of 2016, compared to the same period a year earlier.

The bitter electoral contest had many Americans threatening to head north if Trump became president, and apparently interest in our housing stock was even more intense in the days and weeks immediately following election day.

American-based sessions on Royal LePage’s website spiked 329 per cent the day after the election, and 210 per cent in the week after Trump’s victory – compared to the same periods a year earlier. For the month of November, the real estate firm saw a 74 per cent Trump bump.

Almost 3 in 4 of those web surfers interested in Canada were sizing up homes in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.

While looking at a listing online is a far cry from actually moving to Canada, Royal LePage says agents saw a rise in actual inquiries. Of the 1,226 agents surveyed across Canada, Royal LePage says almost 16 per cent field questions from our southern neighbours.

“Given America’s vast population, even a fractional increase in the number of households following through on this initial interest - and successfully completing the demanding process of emigrating to Canada - could drive a material increase in the number of homebuyers from south of the border,” Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, said in a release.

With Ottawa considering raising our immigration quotas, and the high U.S. dollar giving Americans greater purchasing power in Canada, “we may be seeing more moving trucks with U.S. license plates in our future,” Soper added.