As Americans prepare to elect a new president on Tuesday, new data shows renewed interest in Canadian real estate.

Data released Wednesday by Canadian real estate company Royal LePage reveals that visits to its website by our neighbors to the South have increased significantly since the unofficial start of the US presidential election campaign.

According to Royal LePage, sessions from the United States on royallepage.ca more than doubled, increasing 104 percent week-over-week (67 percent year-over-year) during the week of June 16, before the first presidential debate.

The following week, after the debate between President Joe Biden and then-presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, traffic peaked with an additional 4 percent increase in visitors from the previous week, a increase of 112 percent week over week and 94 percent. year after year.

“Electoral sport”

Phil Soper, CEO of Royal LePage, said trends were similar in 2016, before Donald Trump’s election.

“It’s not surprising, in this incredibly contentious U.S. presidential election, that they are attracted, at least emotionally, to the idea of ​​getting away from it all,” he said. “I think that’s probably the most important message from this rise of American interest in Canadian properties. Call it Internet therapy.

Soper said most of the site’s visitors came from Democratic states, but interest from a Republican-leaning state, South Carolina, was also strong.

“Canada is the nation in the world most like the United States,” he said. “Dreaming of Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver is an American electoral sport.”

Controversial election

Jennifer Philips, president of the mainland British Columbia chapter of Democrats Abroad, a partisan volunteer group, said she was not surprised by the interest of some American citizens in settling here amid controversial elections.

“We know LGBTQ rights are up for grabs this year,” Phillips said. “We know that women’s reproductive rights are on the ballot. And, you know, in countries like Canada, it’s established law. RIGHT?”

Ryan Neely, a partner at McCrea Immigration Law, said he’s been fielding calls daily during this year’s election campaign, mostly from blue states.

“We’ve seen an increase in what we call cold calling,” he said. “People who just found us on the Internet and say, ‘Well, look, we’re interested in Canadian immigration.’ »

Despite aspirations to immigrate to Canada, Neely said, in reality the conversion rate to becoming a permanent resident is low.

“But there is a core of people who are dedicated to this.”

This group, he explained, often includes young families or people who have been struggling with the decision to move for a long time.