Political tensions in the United States are increasingly being felt even in the real estate market. According to an analysis of traffic to the company portal Royal LePage, in 2026 the number of Americans browsing Canadian houses and apartments surged.
According to broker Marc Lefrançois, every major political crisis or social conflict in the U.S. leads to a spike in interest in Canadian real estate. The peaks in April and May were especially noticeable, when the weekly number of visitors from the U.S. approached 80,000—significantly above typical levels.
The most impressive jump occurred from April 26 to May 2: traffic from the U.S. rose by 542% compared with the same week last year. The increase coincided with another round of legal and political disputes over access to mifepristone, a medication used for medical abortion.
A similar situation had been observed before. In the first week of April, site visits by Americans increased by 233% compared with 2025. At that time, interest coincided with heightened international tensions surrounding the conflict with Iran. Over the week, more than 44,000 Americans visited the portal versus 13,000 a year earlier.
An additional spike came at the end of March after the mass “No King” protests in the U.S., which, according to organizers’ estimates, drew eight to nine million participants across thousands of actions nationwide.
Interest also rose in January after the widely covered death of Minnesota resident Rene Good as a result of actions by a federal agent. During that period, views of Canadian real estate by Americans increased by 65% compared with last year.
Canadian housing is more expensive
However, potential buyers from the U.S. may be in for an unpleasant surprise. Despite higher incomes among American families, housing in Canada remains more expensive.
In 2026, the median home sale price in the U.S. was about 560,000 Canadian dollars, while in Canada it was 666,400 dollars. Thus, Canadian real estate is on average about 19% more expensive.
At the same time, the median household income in the U.S. reaches about 116,000 Canadian dollars per year, which is roughly 38% higher than the Canadian figure of about 84,000 dollars.
A mass move is not expected yet
Despite the rise in online searches, specialists do not believe Canada is facing a large-scale wave of migration from the U.S.
In Lefrançois’s view, this is more about psychological interest and the desire to have a backup option in case of political instability. Some well-off Americans are already buying condos in Toronto or cottages in Canada as a “Plan B,” but this has not yet had a noticeable impact on housing market prices.
The most likely destinations for potential newcomers remain Toronto and Vancouver—the country’s largest English-speaking economic centers.
The expert believes the U.S. midterm elections in the fall of 2026 will be an important indicator. If political tensions persist or intensify, Americans’ interest in Canada could grow even more. If the situation stabilizes, the current surge of interest may prove to be a temporary phenomenon.
Royal LePage itself notes that this kind of link between political events in the U.S. and traffic to Canadian home-for-sale listings has been observed for nearly ten years—since the start of Donald Trump’s first presidential term.
