Real estate agents in Ontario communities just on the other side of the Quebec border say the PQ victory last month has been good for business.

Diane Chretien is a sales representative for Royal Lepage in Lancaster, Ontario, about an hour west of Montreal. She says she has been busy recently fielding calls and emails from Quebecers who are tired of the language debate and now, are especially worried about their taxes going up.

"Since the elections we have been extremely busy with showings," she says, "and that's coming from young families and retired people."

Maurice Sauvé of Sauvé Real Estate in nearby Alexandria says there have been more phone calls and visits from Quebecers lately, but that does not mean they will all buy. 

"Some people just come to see what is available," he tells CJAD, "but maybe they haven't made up their mind."

Both real estate agents say that many of the clients they get from Montreal work on the West Island and want to take advantage of a relatively short commute between home and the office.

"Some people who are east of the city travel an hour to work," explains Sauvé, "and frrom here it's an hour to work. So in the end it is not any further."

Not much further and cheaper as well. A family of four earning $100,000 a year would save about $6,000 in taxes by living across the border.

"They tell me that there is an awful big advantage of them moving here," says Chretien. 

photo courtesy of Royal LePage