Quebec's poiltics is driving west island resident Barbara Rousse out.
“I’ve had enough, had enough, we're moving on out,” said Barbara Rousse.
Rousse is part of a possible trend which is seeing Quebecers moving out of the province in anticipation of a Parti Quebecois electoral victory on September 4.
“I've just had it, I've had it with them,” she said.
And while a new PQ-caused migration out of Quebec might not yet be fully underway, some say the signs are already evident.
“We're getting twice as many phone calls,” said Hawkesbury, Ontario-based realtor Rebecca Collet. “The numbers have increased substantially. People just want to leave."
"They say they want to move to Canada they don’t feel Quebec is a part of Canada,” she said.
Collett said that those who move to eastern Ontario enjoy their new province, largely because it leaves more cash in their pockets.
“They love that they pay less taxes here,” said realtor Rebecca Collett. “Lower municipal taxes, property taxes, income taxes and the property values are substantially lower."
But one Montreal realtor is not so sure that any departure trend is underway but she concedes nonetheless that would-be purchasers are waiting to pull the trigger.
“We’re still seeing buyers coming in for open houses. There is still a lot of action but people seem to be holding off in terms of making offers,” said realtor Heidi Witt.
Montreal remains a relative bargain, according to another realtor.
“We're still one of the lowest prices compared to Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary,” said Etienne Mellor of Royal LePage.
But if a referendum were to be called, one might expect values to plummet.
“That would be a total disaster for sure,” said Mellor.
