Canadian investors, visitors set to return

Among the countless South Floridians who are suffering financial setbacks from the coronavirus, Canadians who have homes and investments here are also feeling the pain.

“I haven’t seen new business except for a meeting with a Canadian investor last week,” said Pierre Taschereau, director of business development at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance. And even the investor was a dual citizen who resides in Broward County.

Taschereau said he reviewed an events calendar of a Canadian bi-national chamber of commerce and found nothing on the books for 2020.

Canadian investors to South

Florida mainly come from Quebec and Ontario. “which are, by far, the most affected by COVID,” he added.

The big summer vacation months in Canada are July and August, “so it will be interesting to see how quick investors will return.”

The key date is June 22, which is the first day “non-essential” travelers such as tourists may again fly and drive to and from Florida. The U.S.-Canada border has been closed since March 21.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced easing of border restrictions to allow immediate family members of citizens or permanent residents to come into Canada. Anyone entering the country will be required to quarantine for 14 days or face serious penalties.

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said the limited exception will apply to spouses, common law partners, dependent children, parents and legal guardians. He said they will have have to stay in Canada for at least 15 days.

Trudeau called the border a point of “vulnerability” to COVID-19 infections when the restrictions were put in place.

Canada’s coronavirus infections pale before those recorded in the United States. As of Monday in Canada, 95,699 people were diagnosed with coronavirus and 7,830 people have died. In the U.S., more than 1.9 million people have tested positive and 110,375 people have died.

Canada’s population is slightly less than that of California’s, and most of the country’s cases are concentrated in the more heavily populated areas. That means Quebec, where Montreal is the largest city, and Ontario, with Toronto as its biggest metropolitan area, are the hardest hit, according to a government public health website that focuses on the virus.

Now, one of the nation’s biggest airlines — Air Canada — is poised to resume flights later this month to and from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the biggest point of entry into South Florida for commercial air travelers flying in from Canadian cities.

AirTransat and Westjet have flights listed for early July.

Prior to the travel ban, Canadians moved between the two countries with ease, said Brett Forman, eastern U.S. executive managing director for Trez Capital, a Vancouver-based commercial mortgage lender. But the restrictions, which excluded cargo and essential travel, severely disrupted the flow.

“This has put in a crimp not only in business travel, but for the snowbirds who had to get out of Dodge to get back in their country,” said Forman, who is an American. “It is a challenge not to be able to get back and forth.”

He said a Canadian neighbor in Delray Beach had to hustle to beat a deadline in March and return to Canada.

Real estate marketers operating in Broward and Palm Beach counties, say that urban Canadian investors are eager to fly south and inspect residential properties to buy on the theory that the green spaces of South Florida harbor less of a danger to public health.

“We have seen an interest from Canadian buyers from the last two and a half months to explore moving down to this area,” said Todd Richardson, vice president of sales and marketing for Group P6, which is building a 48-unit luxury condo complex called the Royal Palm Residences in Boca Raton.

Inquiries are coming from postal codes from the Toronto and Montreal areas and points in between, he said.

“The increase has been dramatic,” he said.