Another U.S. election, another surge in “moving to Canada” Google searches.
By now, it’s a pretty predictable trend — Americans dissatisfied with the results of their presidential election wake up the next morning and hit the search engines, trying to figure out how to make the move north of the border, with the hope that something better awaits them in our country.
And despite president-elect Donald Trump promising to usher in a “golden age for America” in Tuesday night’s victory speech, it seems many Americans are skeptical, causing “moving to Canada” to peak on Google Trends starting Tuesday evening and continuing into Wednesday.
Additionally, “how to legally move to Canada,” “moving to Canada from U.S.” and “moving to Canada requirements” all surged and appeared as breakout terms, Google Trends reports, with the highest search counts coming from states that voted overwhelmingly for Vice-President Kamala Harris, including Oregon, Washington, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Unlike in 2016, however, when Americans despairing over Trump’s first presidential victory crashed the Canadian government’s federal immigration site with their queries, this time Canada.ca’s Immigration and Citizenship page seems to be operating just fine.
Alongside the uptick in Google searches, many people posted to X their intention to move; some were clearly joking, but others took a more serious tone.
Is this time different?
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In past election years, the interest in moving to Canada has appeared to be more of a joke or passing fancy, rather than something Americans have actually embraced in earnest.
After the 2016 election that saw Trump take office for the first time, plenty of celebrities declared their intent to move north, but none of them appeared to make good on their claims.
But, as Fortune magazine notes, this year feels different.
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“Americans who oppose or fear a second term with Donald Trump in power are coming to terms with the surprising show of support for him in this year’s election,” the outlet wrote in a piece highlighting the 63 best jobs to have for those serious about making the move. (Geologist? Hotel manager? Those are two of them.)
“Unlike in 2016, Trump’s Republican party looks set to rule the Senate beginning next year, and the House is still up for grabs. If Republicans win both chambers, that will give Trump the power to make sweeping changes to U.S. laws.”
Fortune warns its readers that while Canada may look appealing to left-leaning voters “with its universal healthcare and generally high quality of life,” life in Canada is not a utopia, and the Canadian immigration process isn’t a walk in the park.
Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will decrease the number of permanent immigrants accepted into the country by 21 per cent next year, allowing in just 395,000 as opposed to 500,000.
“We are acting today because of the tumultuous times as we emerged from the pandemic, between addressing labour needs and maintaining population growth, we didn’t get the balance quite right,” he explained.
Next year, 40 per cent of all new permanent residents will come from those temporary residents who are already here, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said while making the announcement.
The federal government said this number is expected to fall further to 380,000 by 2026 and 365,000 by 2027.
Of course, Canada offers federal programs to aspiring Canadians who are particularly skilled in their fields, and those who already have a job lined up can secure a work permit thanks to the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (formerly NAFTA), but will still have to contend with similar issues also facing the U.S., like high inflation, low wages and a housing crisis in many parts of the country.
As well, there’s a huge difference between securing permanent resident status using the above routes and becoming a Canadian citizen. While permanent residents are afforded health-care coverage and can work, travel and study anywhere in the county, they will eventually require citizenship to vote, run for office or hold certain jobs with top security clearances.
Permanent residents who hope to become citizens must be physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the first five years of their permanent residency, speak English or French, send in income tax filings for three years of the five-year period and pass a Canadian citizenship test.
Canadians send a warning
Americans who are serious about heading to what they believe will be greener pastures, however, were hit with warnings from friendly Canucks, who highlighted that Canada may not be the paradise they’re envisioning.
One person shared an oversimplified map of the state of the county.
Others warned that Canadian and U.S. politics aren’t necessarily that different.
Meanwhile, others tried to warn about Canada’s long and expensive immigration process.
Will past trends predict the future?
While it’s far too early to predict an influx of Americans into Canada, in the past, some made good on their intention to leave for the Great White North — but not in the droves social media proclamations would lead you to believe.
In the first quarter of 2018, 2,615 U.S. citizens were granted permanent residency, and in the five quarters of data directly after Trump was elected for the first time, an average of 2,342 Americans were granted permanent residency per quarter, compared with an average of 2,131 per quarter between 2007 and 2016.
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