If the past is any indication, we can expect Google searches for “move to Canada” to spike among our friends south of the border today.
Of course, the midterm election is currently underway in the United States.
In June, when Roe v. Wade ruling took centre stage, Americans took to Google to figure out how they could move to Canada. In fact, searches spiked by over 850% at this time, according to Axios, which also reported that searches for “How to become a Canadian citizen” increased by 550%.
Months later, a report by home warranty company American Home Shield found that a considerable number of Americans are dreaming of moving to Canada over other countries in the world. Interest in moving abroad soared by 29% in the US since 2020. While the research found that Florida is the most commonly-searched relocation destination in the United States, the majority of Americans would choose Canada if they were going to move to another country.
Google Trends
In the past seven days, there have also been Google spikes in searches for “Americans moving to Canada," -- most dramatically increasing today (November 9th). But, the trends come as no surprise.
Last November, Canadian superstar Ryan Reynolds even used his air time on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to tell Americans to stop threatening to move to Canada. During a segment called "You Have to Stop," the actor held nothing back. "You have to stop saying that you're going to move to Canada whenever you're mad at something in the US," said Reynolds. “As a Canadian, I'm sorry, but we can't. I know we're friendly, but Canada's not your safehouse. I mean, we barely let Canadians into Canada anymore, so please, pick somewhere else."
Reynolds' comments are tongue in cheek; with Canada’s aggressive immigration policy, the country is welcoming new immigrants with open arms -- Americans, no exception. Early last year, the federal government amended its plan to welcome 1.2M immigrants between 2021 and 2023 by announcing that 1.3M newcomers will call Canada home between now and the end of 2024. While Reynolds may not be a fan -- joking or not -- of mass immigration on the part of Americans, many point to the merits of immigration when it comes to both stimulating the economy, providing labour, and even preventing a full-blown housing crash.
