A Calgary-based developer is showing the rest of Canada that the city might be the perfect place for them to buy their ideal home, even if they might be a little embarrassed to admit it.

In a hero spot for new campaign from Calbridge Homes, an ex-Toronto couple, fearful of the backlash they will receive for the move, talk about the benefits of their new Alberta homestead with their voices and faces obscured like they’re in the witness protection program.

One of the characters even takes a potshot at his home province, saying “in Ontario, they call things mountains, but they’re actually just hills.”

The campaign is the first time in Calbridge Homes’ 45-year history that it has looked outside of its local market to entice prospective buyers. It’s capitalizing on the fact that a large number of Torontonians and Vancouverites could be enticed to Calgary, recently named the seventh most livable city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Livability Index 2023.

Calbridge is also taking advantage of what some analysts are calling “record levels of outmigration” from Ontario, thanks to skyrocketing cost of living and stagnant wages that are primarily affecting younger residents. In August, the average price of a sold home in Calgary was $583,549, compared to $1.1 million in the Greater Toronto Area and $1.3 million in Vancouver.

“All we needed to do is point out that, given the market economy, you can get the home of your dreams with Calbridge Homes,” said Nicole Ziemann, managing director, sales and marketing, Calbridge Homes. “For certain out-of-province customers, owning a Calbridge Home in Calgary and surrounding areas is the perfect match.”

According to Ziemann, it’s more than just the price difference, and that the brand’s differentiator is that it offers a simple home buying process that includes a moving concierge and paid legal fees on closing, plus a variety of quick possession homes.

The campaign was developed by Calbridge Homes’ agency of record Trigger Advertising.

The new work is rolling out in both the Greater Toronto Area, but also Vancouver, on connected TV, YouTube and social. There are also digital web banners, which claim that, among other things, beautiful homes exist for under $1 million and that owning property with a backyard is “surprisingly possible here.”

“I have a personal connection with this campaign because I moved out west from Toronto earlier this year,” says Andrew Payne, senior copywriter at Trigger. “The out-of-reach housing prices in Toronto was definitely a big reason to move away.”

According to Stats Canada data, Alberta had negative net interprovincial migration every year from 2015 to 2021, meaning more people moved away to other provinces than moved to it. However, the tide turned dramatically the next year, with net interprovincial migration of nearly 22,000 people, the highest of any province. Last year, the number shot over 56,000.

Alberta’s provincial government has also been attempting to lure residents with the “Alberta is Calling” campaign, which began in Ontario and has since shifted targets to Atlantic Canada and British Columbia with promises of more affordable living and career opportunities.