Politics

These People Might Actually Move to Canada If Trump Wins

March 8th 2016

Following Super Tuesday, where Republican front-runner Donald Trump secured a solid chunk of the delegates he needs to lock up a GOP nomination, Google searches into "How can I move to Canada [?]" spiked.

Bill Maher joked about it on his show, "Real Time With Bill Maher," saying: “Oh you Canadians are going to love it when a half a million liberals in yoga pants swarm across your border [demanding] gluten free pumpernickel, and a job that lets them bring their dog to work.”

But seriously folks, the prospect of a Trump presidency does have some Americans eyeing the luggage stashed in the closet.

Attorney Will Proctor and his husband (also an attorney) have been talking about a move to Canada “for a bunch of reasons,” he says, adding: “Trump is the trump card, I guess.” Proctor’s concerned about rising health-care costs, even with the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Will ProctorCourtesy of Will Proctor

“We need a single-payer system like Canada or the UK,” he says. He also wants to be in a place that, unlike Southern California, is not hobbled by drought.

“My only concern,” he jokes, “is that [Canadian born] Ted Cruz might move back.”

Move to Canada? American Shelly Saunders’ been there and done that. She understands why those freaked out by Trump’s rhetoric might consider a run for the border.

Shelly SaundersCourtesy of Shelly Saunders

“It’s like going back 100 years with this demagogue racist,” Saunders says. But as someone who relocated to Toronto from the Bay Area, and then doubled back a year and a half before her three-year contract was up, she’s not sure that the country to the north would be such a good fit for many would-be emigrants.

During her time in Toronto, ironically enough, her swank apartment was in Trump Tower, and dripped with amenities: salon, gym, restaurants. “Everything I needed,” she recalls.


The city had plenty of positives, too. “I felt completely safe. They don’t have guns, I wasn’t afraid of getting mugged or raped,” even leaving the club at 2:30 or 3 in the morning wasn't a problem for Saunders. Racism was a non issue: “I never felt discriminated against or got pulled over for driving while black,” she says.

But the weather was bone-chilling cold. “Minus 20 and minus 30 for months....” Walking through Toronto, she felt like the last woman alive, until she discovered the underground: restaurants and shops for miles in each direction. “It’s like you become mole people,” Saunders said, which was tough for a “California girl.”


She had to file taxes in both countries (but only pay in the U.S.). A bottle of vodka that would cost $7 here set her back $26 there. And a 13 percent sales tax, Saunders says, made everything expensive. More than money, connecting proved a challenge. “People were friendly, but they never said come to our house for dinner, or we’re having a party come join us. They would meet you at a club.”

Cheryl Sutherland, who hails from Alberta, Canada, is also a devotee of the sunny California lifestyle.

Cheryl SutherlandCourtesy of Cheryl Sutherland

She’s been in the L.A. area two years, and started the company PleaseNotes. For those thinking of leaving the U.S. for her neck of the woods, she wonders if they might be better off sticking around and working to change a system that let Trump rise so high politically.

“It’s the ultimate wake-up call for Americans,” Sutherland adds.

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