Snowbird golf worries are real in California desert as Canadians fret about their future in U.S.

The fickle playing partners of Golf and Politics are finding concerning coalescence in one of the nation’s great golf pockets.

The Coachella Valley, known to most with the blanketed title of “Palm Springs”—home to 120 courses across a 40-mile spread of SoCal sand and sun and host to annual PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions and Epson Tour events—is shouldering toward its hot summer offseason with an earnest worry that, come autumn, some its most avid patrons may avoid the tee sheet.

Snowbirding Canadians, namely those from the nation’s western provinces, account for more than seven percent of Valley homeowners and make for some of the region’s most ardent annual collection of golf guests. According to a 2017 study done for Visit Greater Palm Springs, Canadian visitors generate more than $300 million in annual revenue to the Valley economy and support more than 2,000 jobs; per “Buying Power” data via the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the spending figure is likely more than $400 million in 2025 dollars.

Such border bread, however, may well be in serious desert peril.

President Donald Trump’s levy of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, in concert with his administration’s scrutiny of border policy and, perhaps most palpably, the president’s ongoing rhetoric of annexing Canada as the “51st state,” has combined to alienate the northern neighbors and result in a dramatic drop in Canadian travel to the U.S.

Statistics Canada reports that March 2025 saw the number of Canadians crossing the U.S. border by car drop by 32 percent when compared to the same month in 2024. Air travel offered further March lag, falling by 13.5 percent year-over-year.

The ire is seeing myriad Canadian golfers rethink travel plans.

“It could affect those dollars, which can easily be transferred to golf courses outside of Palm Springs, in other destinations, like Mexico,” says Anthony Quinn, COO of the 250,000-member Canadian Association of Retired Persons. “Leading into summer, with snowbirds or Canadian tourists planning for next season, the atmosphere right now would suggest that these types of travelers will make alternative arrangements. There’s a real sense that this is the way they can protest.”

For the delicate, seasonal economic ecosystem of the Coachella Valley, a dramatic decline in Canadian visitors and homeowners threatens to undo the desert’s 15-year golf and property rally that saw Canadians swoop up homes in the aftermath of 2008’s economic crisis, followed by a happy host of west-continent golfers swinging to the Valley in the post-pandemic boom.

Though the dwindling days of Palm Springs’ recent high season found public tee sheets already filled with pre-planners, with Canadian snowbirds namely set in their plans and private club representatives either unable or unwilling to discuss the dynamic openly, an eventual turn toward fall has the region on worry.

Maple Leaf grief

While a cache of Canadian snowbirds and/or visitors appear willing to weather to geopolitical tariff talk and to stomach the exchange rate of 70 cents on the U.S. dollar, the continual White House jabs at annexation has viscerally irked a majority of the proud neighbor’s 40-plus million residents. As a form of protest, the Gordie Howe-inspired chant of “Elbows Up” has translated into "Wallets Paused" for countless travelers.

“Despite the neighborliness, there’s a sense of unwelcomeness coming from Washington,” Quinn says, “and that really has ticked-off Canadians from coast to coast. Everybody in my peer group knows somebody who has cancelled something [for U.S. travel plans].”

Dave Majeski, a snowbird from Edmonton, has been wintering in the Valley pocket of Palm Desert for 14 years, where he’s a golf club member and homeowner. He and his wife echo the real-time sentiments of innumerable Canadians in the desert.

“We’ve all got feelings, right? Our feelings are hurt, and we don’t like the uncertainty,” Majeski says. “We can tolerate the economics side of it. But, when push comes to shove, if we run into challenges as far as our mobility between the two countries—that’s when big decisions will be made in terms of where we go.”

Noting that two of his Canadian neighbors quickly listed their country-club homes following the Trump inauguration, Majeski further illuminates the current Canadian concern with reference to singer/songwriter Jimmy Cuddy’s “We Used to Be the Best of Friends.” Says Majeski: “Just listen to the song; it sums-up a lot.”

From chords to costs, the Canadian snowbird decision-tree is branching the weights of national pride and idyllic winter lifestyle. “It costs us a lot to be down there in the desert, but we love our property, and we love the life,” Majeski says. “But we also don’t want to be disrespected or reach a point where we have fear.”

Donna Evans and her husband are members at The Lakes C.C. in Palm Desert. The pair have been snowbirding to the Valley from Calgary since 1999 and have been homeowners at their current club for 17 years.

“We have several Canadian friends who have sold their homes at other local golf clubs, and we came very, very close to listing ours,” Evans says. “And we’ve never considered renting our place before, but now, for November, we’re giving ourselves options. We’ll follow the news and go from there.”

Much of the news is either opaque or fluid.

While Canadian visitors to the U.S. for more than 30 days aren’t subject to fingerprinting, they are required to register and must carry proof of registration at all times, lest they face fines of up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment for up to six months. Along with the president’s annexation comments, possible paperwork hurdles are combining to readily upset longtime visitors.

“I’ve never carried registration papers around with me in the U.S. I have a NEXUS card; I’ve been fingerprinted; I’ve been scanned; they know where I’ve worked and every country I’ve visited in the last 30 years,” Evans says. “And now I’m gonna go play golf and have this little piece of paper tucked in my back pocket?"

As scorecards both special and scrubbed would suggest, sometimes a piece of paper is more than just a piece of paper. In turn, if even anecdotally, it’s the little things which can denote the vibe of a golf course, a community, or both.

Barry Clark, a snowbird from British Columbia, has owned a home at The Resorter in Palm Desert for the past 13 years; the community has a reported that Canadians own 30 percent of its properties. Whether by way of neighborhood walks or rounds, he noted a distinct change amid this shouldering peek-season.

“Usually in March, especially for people who are coming down for a few weeks or a month, they’re here to play almost every day, which means we need to book our tee times a week out,” Clark says. “This year, you could just watch the course and see all these gaps in play. Or for, say, a 2:20 time, we always show up a bit early. This year, the starter would just say, ‘You might as well go; it’s wide open.’”

A dangerous domino

Across the Coachella Valley, the home market and golf market prove oft-synonymous, with communities ceaselessly corridored by courses designed around real estate. With the desert’s post-COVID home-buy rush now having normalized as a result of several factors, snowbirds, locals and realtors alike are keeping an especially close watch on present trends.

David Richards, a snowbird from Calgary, has been a member/homeowner at Toscana C.C. in Indian Wells for the past 15 years and speaks with a strong sense for finance.

“Where I think the rubber hits the road in terms of Canadians is the marginal buyer,” Richards says, “because they don’t have other factors maybe working for them, like a strong Canadian dollar. It’s gonna have an impact because they’ll look at their options in terms of where they can deploy their capital, and they may decide that there are places other than Southern California that attract their interest.”

While neither Richards, nor any Toscana neighbors of which he’s aware are considering pulling up stake, he recognizes the market beyond has the potential for uncertain times.

“For people who are approaching retirement age and were thinking they’d love to spend their winters down here, I think they may well hit the pause button,” Richards says. “And that would be sensible, because we don’t know where this is going, economically or culturally. It’s by no means a scientific poll, but the water-cooler talk around here, I think a lot of people would share the view that where this is an easy [marketplace] decision in a more normalized environment, a bit more head-scratching goes on today.”

Richards’ insights prove apt. In March, new listings across the Coachella Valley reached their highest monthly mark—more than 1,300—in three years, while cumulative Valley inventory is at its highest since 2019.

While a full-on exodus of Canadian sellers hasn’t yet taken hold, the numbers are starting to present a spot of bother.

“Houses, on average, are now on the market for about 55 days,” says Kyle Garman, a La Quinta-based realtor under the Keller Williams banner. “Back in 2021-22, something was on the market for maybe 10 days, and then it was gone.”

A specialist in golf-centric, 55-plus communities, Garman is well-aware that the current culture goes beyond the numbers.

“The conversations with Canadians has been, ‘We love it here; we’re uncertain what we’re going to do; we’re going to see what happens,’” he says. “Typically, February is when it’s full-go with buys and sales and Canadians are coming in with cash and want to make a deal. Unfortunately, didn’t see a lot of that this season.”

Dan Hamilton, a veteran Valley realtor with an eponymous group at Coldwell Banker, worked with two recent Canadian sellers and sees the potential for a dangerous domino ahead.

“A large number of our Canadian snowbirds are in gated communities where, of course, golf is a driving factor,” Hamilton says. “If even 10 percent of Canadians were to sell, that could increase our overall inventory by 7-14 percent. If we start to lose a lot of the Canadian owners or renters, I could foresee an environment where some of the golf clubs face the challenges they were experiencing prior to COVID.”

Hamilton further manages eight to 10 seasonal rentals and eyes concern in the lack of annual Canadian pre-planning interest.

“It’s pretty common that, by now, I’d be receiving a lot of calls with people trying to book for the following season,” Hamilton said amid the close of April. “So far, I haven’t seen the inquiries on the rental listings that I’d typically see this time of year.”

Come back (please)

The Canadian penchant for saying “I’m serry” has transferred to domestic apologies across the desert, along with California beyond.

In early April, as local vendors and Palm Springs officials began to take note of a peek-season winding down early, the city responded by hanging 40 red “Palm Springs ♥ Canada” banners along the main strip of Palm Canyon Drive. In concert, electronic signage at the nearby Palm Springs International Airport proclaimed the same.

“I thought that was a very noble gesture and sends a very positive message,” says David Richards of the banners. “Seeing them on the lampposts when you’re in the area is a little bit different than reading about it in the newspaper; for people who haven’t lived here or experienced how people interact around town, they might not feel it quite as warmly as we do, as residents here.”

Echoes Dave Majeski from his Canadian base: “I’ve received a lot of pictures from people walking down the main drag. That warmed our hearts. It says that, ‘We don’t want to lose you; please come back.’”

Such signage proved both prescient and reactionary.

Along the same April timeline, a pair of Canadian airlines, Flair and WestJet, ended their respective Palm Springs seasonal services far earlier than planned. According to The Winnipeg Daily Press, WestJet flights between Winnipeg and Palm Springs had been scheduled to run through April 24; the airline instead concluded the route a month earlier, on March 26. Flair had planned to run its route between Vancouver and Palm Springs through April 27 but concluded the service on April 6.

State governance took further note, as did one of the Valley’s congressional representatives.

In mid-April, fueled by a 12 percent, February year-to-year drop in Canadian-to-California tourism, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an ad campaign directed at luring Canadians back to the Golden State. According to Visit California, in 2024, 1.8 million Canadians visited California, spending $3.72 billion in the state.

And, at May’s onset, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-41) co-sponsored the Canadian Snowbird Visa Act (H.R. 3070), a bipartisan bill aimed at extending how long Canadian citizens who own or lease a residence in the U.S. may stay in the country (a suggested extension from 182 days to 240 days annually).

“The Canadian Snowbird Visa Act will provide an important boost to the economic engine of the Coachella Valley, which is fueled by visitors from Canada and all over the world,” Calvert said in a release. “This new policy will ultimately create jobs and expand economic growth in the Coachella Valley.”

Between nationalism and good neighbors, countless Canadian snowbirds have weighty decisions on their hands.

“The problem is, Canadians really like it down here,” Majeski says. “You start asking yourself the question: ‘Where else would we want to go?’ We love the desert, and we’ve had so many Americans—including people I’ve never even met before—come up to us and say, ‘I apologize.’”

As the Coachella Valley anxiously awaits its unknown aesthetic come the season’s shouldering anew, the final verse of Jim Cuddy’s song rings both haunting and hopeful:

Lately there’s been a storm on high

Things got bad and God knows why

Give us a call when the fever ends

Used to be the best of friends