Fed-up Americans eyeing Canada?
Can't stand four more years of Dubya, eh?
Canadian officials are reporting that their government's immigration Web site has been swamped with traffic since George W. Bush gave his acceptance speech on Wednesday. The site's traffic reached record levels that day, with six times more Americans visiting the site than usual, according to a report from the Canadian Press (CP) wire service.
A total of 115,016 visits to the site originated in the United States, accounting for 64 percent of the day's traffic, according to the CP report. The most visited page was the skilled worker online self-assessment form, a Citizenship and Immigration official told the news organization.
Distraught American liberals looking to relocate north of the border should expect a 6- to 12-month wait and nearly $1,500 in fees, along with the prospect chilly winters and high taxes.
One site offers to speed up the process by helping single Americans find a Canuck to marry. The satirical site, marryanamerican.ca, features profiles of eligible Canadians and urges fellow citizens to sign up.
"Now that George W. Bush has been officially elected, single, sexy, American liberals--already a threatened species--will be desperate to escape," the site says. "These lonely, afraid (did we mention really hot?) progressives will need a safe haven."
On a semi-serious note, Salon and Harper's Magazine each recently published guides to becoming an American exile. In addition to Canada, Harper's suggests heading to the Caribbean, Indian reservations and "the high seas."
Other sites caution against a hasty move to the land of maple syrup, Mounties and ice hockey. Bush Watch, an anti-Bush Web log run out of Austin, Texas, seeks to dissuade disheartened Democrats from packing their bags with its online primer to Canada.
"Are you ready to call your dollar coin a 'loonie' and your two dollar coin a 'toonie?'" the site asks. "Are you ready for a loonie toonie way of life?"
Few actually expect Americans to really exile themselves as a result of President Bush's re-election. Although a military draft, which has been rumored, could change that. About 5,000 U.S. citizens immigrate to Canada every year, down from 23,000 annually during the Vietnam War, according the CP story.
Los Angeles resident Robert Boleyn told Britain's Daily Telegraph that he hears a lot of people threatening to emigrate to Canada, but added, "I think it's often more a measure of frustration with the last four years than a real intention to leave."
