Americans consider moving to Canada after Trump victory

Cassandra Szklarski – The Canadian Press

Published at 8:09 a.m.

• United States

A Vancouver immigration lawyer has received so many inquiries from disgruntled American voters following Donald Trump’s victory in this week’s presidential election that he has created a website to address their concerns.

The site is called “Trumpugees.ca.” On its home page, it tells visitors: “Tired of Trump ? Thinking about Canada ? We can help.” A Vancouver immigration lawyer has received so many inquiries from disgruntled American voters following Donald Trump’s victory in this week’s presidential election that he has created a website to address their concerns.

The site is called “Trumpugees.ca.” On its home page, it tells visitors: “Tired of Trump ? Thinking of Canada ? We can help. »

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Ryan Rosenberg, a partner at Larlee Rosenberg, Barristers&Solicitors, says he and his colleagues are seeing an increase in interest in immigration from a broad range of American residents disappointed by the election victory of Mr. Trump.

The situation is similar across the country, according to immigration lawyer Meghan Felt, who works in Newfoundland. In Toronto, Royal LePage president Phil Soper says online searches for Canadian properties for sale spiked in the months leading up to the election.

Jackson Speary, a 22-year-old from Maryland, admits he’s been disillusioned with politics for “a very long time” and says he’s considering coming to Canada to work or study.

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The geologist worries that Trump’s environmental and economic policies will interfere with his work, much of which involves ensuring compliance with federal environmental rules. He wonders if his career would be more stable in Canada.

“It's a very scary time for someone my age to pursue a career,” Mr. Speary said from Stevensville, Md., where he works.

“I feel like I would have much better job security in Canada, and probably anywhere else,” he said, noting that he is also considering moving to New Zealand, where he has professional contacts.

Not new

Rosenberg said it is not uncommon to see a sudden interest in immigrating to Canada after a major event. He recalls that the same phenomenon occurred after George W. Bush’s second election, from “primarily blue-state Americans who wanted to leave.”

But this time, he notes, the demographic of the disgruntled appears broader, including wealthy Americans, cultural minorities, and Democrats disappointed by Kamala Harris’s defeat.

In Newfoundland, Felt doesn’t have a dedicated website like her Vancouver counterpart and doesn’t do targeted marketing, but word of mouth has led to five Americans contacting her in the past few days. She typically gets about one such request a week.

A client who had talked about moving to Canada two months ago emailed her after the election.

“They want to do it, like, immediately,” the St. John’s lawyer said.

More often than not, Americans are curious about Canada’s urban centres and don’t ask about political differences between provinces or countries, she said.

“Canada is Canada. I’ve heard Americans refer to Canada as a big Massachusetts,” Felt said.

Jackson Speary has heard that Canada has capped the number of international students it will accept in the coming years, but he says that probably won’t deter him from pursuing higher education north of the border.

“It’s going to be harder, but I think I’d be willing to give it a try,” he said.