Canadian snowbirds own billions of dollars in Florida real estate. When Floridians vote on a major property tax overhaul next month, Canadians won't qualify for its biggest break.
Florida votes Nov. 3 on Amendment 3, which would sharply increase the property tax exemption for people who make Florida their permanent home.
Gov. Ron DeSantis made his view on giving Canadians that kind of relief clear more than a year ago.
"I don't want to give Canadians a tax cut," he said.
He said it on March 31, 2025, while arguing against a sales tax cut. With his property tax plan now going to voters, the line is back.
A much bigger break for Florida residents
Florida already gives permanent residents a homestead exemption, which lowers the share of their home's value that gets taxed. This year, it's up to US$51,411.
Amendment 3 would make it far bigger. For non-school property taxes, the exemption would rise to US$150,000 in 2027 and US$250,000 in 2028, then grow with inflation starting in 2029. School taxes would still apply.
The amendment also tells Florida lawmakers to set up a way for counties and cities to raise the exemption even further, potentially up to the full assessed value of a qualifying home.
Canadian snowbirds generally wouldn't qualify. A Florida condo or house used as a winter home counts as non-homestead property, along with second homes, vacation properties and rentals.
What Canadians do get
Amendment 3 has a second part that helps snowbirds.
Florida currently caps how much the assessed value of non-homestead property can rise each year at 10 per cent. Amendment 3 would cut that cap to 5 per cent.
So the amendment doesn't raise property taxes on Canadians. It protects them from big jumps in their assessments. What it doesn't give them is the much bigger exemption Florida residents would get.
Why DeSantis brought up Canadians
The Canadian comment came from a different tax fight.
In March 2025, Florida lawmakers were looking at cutting the state's sales tax. DeSantis argued property tax relief would do more for Floridians, since tourists pay sales tax too.
"I want Canadian tourists and Brazilian tourists subsidizing the state and making it so Florida residents pay less taxes," he said at a Florida Realtors event in Orlando. "I don't want to give Canadians a tax cut."
"I think the tax relief needs to be focused on Floridians," he said. "We need a Florida First tax package."
Amendment 3 follows the same idea. The biggest break goes to people who live in Florida.
Canadians own an estimated US$60 billion in Florida
Canadians are estimated to own about US$60 billion worth of property in Florida.
They're also the state's biggest group of foreign buyers. Florida Realtors' latest international report found Canadians made up 18 per cent of international home purchases in Florida, about US$1.9 billion in sales.
Interest is still strong. Canadians made up 37.8 per cent of all international home searches in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2026, according to Realtor.com data released by Florida Realtors. In some Florida markets, it was most of the demand: about 71 per cent in Cape Coral, 70.9 per cent in Naples and 58.8 per cent in Tampa.
Billions less for local governments
A bigger exemption means less money for counties and cities.
Florida TaxWatch, using state estimates, projects Amendment 3 would cut local property tax collections by about US$4.9 billion in 2027-28, rising to about US$11.8 billion a year by 2031-32. That's about US$45.8 billion over the first five years.
The amendment doesn't raise anyone's tax rate. But DeSantis has pointed to the property that would still be fully taxed. In a Fox Business interview earlier this year, he listed "residential, Airbnb, Canadian snowbirds, commercial."
"That's a lot of money that they have," he said.
How counties and cities fill the gap would be up to them, after the vote.
Canadians are already staying away
Canadians made 23.1 million visits to the U.S. in 2025, according to Statistics Canada. That's 7.1 million fewer than the year before, a drop of 23.5 per cent. They spent $3.3 billion less there.
It kept going into 2026. Canadian visits to the U.S. fell another 10.6 per cent in the first three months of the year.
And this week, Canadians heard two very different messages from the U.S.
President Donald Trump said Canada is being "taught a little lesson," as new U.S. bans on some Canadian products took effect. An AP-NORC poll found just 26 per cent of Americans now call Canada a close ally, down from 62 per cent in 2023. Read our coverage here.
In Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey posted a video asking Canadians to come back. "We miss you," he said. "We don't think of you as the 51st state." Read our coverage here.
Florida has long counted on Canadian tourists, snowbirds and buyers. Its governor has also said that when Florida cuts taxes, the biggest break should go to Floridians.
What happens Nov. 3
Amendment 3 needs 60 per cent of the vote to pass.
If it does, Florida residents get an exemption of US$150,000 in 2027 and US$250,000 in 2028.
Canadian snowbirds won't get that exemption. They'll get the lower cap on yearly assessment increases, at 5 per cent instead of 10.
Sources
Florida Department of State, Amendment 3 ballot information
Florida Legislature, CS/HJR 1-F
Florida TaxWatch, Florida Property Tax Resource Center
Florida Realtors, 2025 Profile of International Residential Transactions in Florida
Florida Realtors, international buyer demand, 2026
Statistics Canada, Canadian-resident travel to the United States: A year in review
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