The number of U.S. citizens visiting Canada's main immigration Web site has shot up six-fold as Americans flirt with the idea of abandoning their homeland after President Bush's election win this week.
"When we looked at the first day after the election, Nov. 3, our Web site hit a new high, almost double the previous record high," immigration ministry spokeswoman Maria Iadinardi said on Friday.
On an average day some 20,000 people in the United States log onto the Web site, www.cic.gc.ca -- a figure which rocketed to 115,016 on Wednesday. The number of U.S. visits settled down to 65,803 on Thursday, still well above the norm.
Bush's victory sparked speculation that disconsolate Democrats and others might decide to start a new life in Canada, a land that tilts more to the left than the United States.
Would-be immigrants to Canada can apply to become permanent resident, a process that often takes a year. The other main way to move north on a long-term basis is to find a job, which requires a work permit.
But please spare the sob stories.
Asked whether an applicant would be looked upon more sympathetically if they claimed to be a sad Democrat seeking to escape four more years of Bush, Iadinardi replied: "There would be no weight given to statements of feelings."
Canada is one of the few major nations with an large-scale immigration policy. Ottawa is seeking to attract between 220,000 and 240,000 newcomers next year.
"Let's face it, we have a population of a little over 32 million and we definitely need permanent residents to come to Canada," said Iadinardi. "If we could meet (the 2005) target and go above it, the more the merrier."
But right now it is too early to say whether the increased interest will result in more applications.
"There is no unusual activity occurring at our visa missions (in the United States). Having someone who intends to come to Canada is not the same as someone actually putting in an application," said Iadinardi.
"We'll only find out whether there has been an increase in applications in six months."
The waiting time to become a citizen is shorter for people married to Canadians, which prompted the birth of a satirical Web site called www.marryanamerican.ca.
The idea of increased immigration by unhappy Americans is triggering some amusement in Canada. Commentator Thane Burnett of the Ottawa Sun newspaper wrote a tongue-in-cheek guide to would-be new citizens on Friday.
"As Canadians, you'll have to learn to embrace and use all the products and culture of Americans, while bad-mouthing their way of life," he said.
who's the guy here that says america is no more divided than it ever was? i fear it's going to stay that way, too, unless bush truly does 'reach out.' if 'reaching out' means democrats doing things purely the way republicans want them, we'll be just as divided, if not more so, in 2008.
one thing's for sure. this war is all bush's now. if he doesn't show great progress, he'll have no one to blame but himself and the gop will surely be out on their kiester in 2008, 'family values' or not!.
People can move to Canada if they want. I could care less. They are not true american's in my opinion. They want a socialized government anyway. 49% of the country has turned into a bunch of cry babies. They are going to take their toys and go play somewhere else because they didn't get their way. There are way more people in this world trying to enter this country than trying to leave it. So I say let them go. Thin the heard.
Jim it's time to face the facts. More people liked Bush than Kerry. Your just going to have to get over it and stop living in denial.
CANADIANS: TAKE THE PLEDGE
(Americans click here to get hooked up!)
Now that George W. Bush has been declared the official winner of the November 2 election and shall become the President of the United States for four more years of idiocy, I the undersigned, a Canadian citizen, pledge to liberate, through the legal and binding act of marriage, a willing citizen of the United States of America, of a gender of my choosing, and with one or all of the following political leanings:
discouraged Democrat,
reformed Republican,
apolitical with limited world-domination tendencies.
In addition, I promise to help my new Yankee spouse to adapt to life in the great white north, keeping them safe from (gratuitous) invasion of privacy, and to provide him/her with a reasonable supply of Timbits.
Never thought that marriage liberates, rather quite opposite.
Sean Kelly said this in post #2 : I wouldn't want to live there - too bloody.. NORTH.
No, you DON'T want to live here. (Im not even talking about the northern part.) But really except for the climate and population, you wouldnt see much of a difference.
Except for Quebec - looks like an island of Europe in NAmerica. Really very nice place to live, but the economy sux big time.
Any sexy yank willing to save me from this army of liberal appeasers?
You know what Tim Hortons is? One of the most popular coffee shops around here. They have good coffee and other drinks, and whats more important they have Timbits - tiny cookies so tasty they would make live in Canada only to eat them. (Other stores have them too, but Tim Hortons is the original and best, and it is Canadian. )
i haven't run across it yet, but i heard there's a web site advocating that the 'blue' states (which are contiguous to canada anyway) secede from the union and form 'the united states of canada.'
well, that's ridiculous, but it does provoke some thought. consider this. when, in the history of the united states, have you ever heard of american citizens wanting to leave for canada? no, don't count those who left to go to canada to escape the vietnam war draft, that's a horse of a different color.
the point here is that george bush is actually that despised and that mistrusted.
i heard that one of the newspapers in england (our great, trusted ally) ran a headline 'how can 51% of the people be so wrong?'
11-05-2004 08:00 PM
I wouldn't want to live there - too bloody.. NORTH. 
