According to the article:
- The number of U.S. citizens who moved to Canada last year hit a 30-year high, with a 20 percent increase over the previous year and almost double the number who moved in 2000.
- The current increase is fueled largely by social and political reasons, says [Jack Jedwab of the Association for Canadian Studies.]
- "Those who are coming have the highest level of education — these aren't people who can't get a job in the states," he explains. "They're coming because many of them don't like the politics, the Iraq War and the security situation in the U.S. By comparison, Canada is a tension-free place. People feel safer."
The article includes anecdotes of two Americans who have made the northward move:
- Tom Kertes, a 34-year-old labor organizer who moved from Seattle to Toronto in Aprilbecause of President Bush's opposition to gay marriage, and the tactics employed during the war on terror since 9/11. "My mother is thinking about it. My stepfather has diabetes and has health issues. So, he'd be taken care of for free if he moved up here." [Say, I wonder if the US could attract more immigrants if we provided "free" healthcare?]
- Jo Davenport, who wrote "The Canadian Way," moved from Atlanta to Nova Scotia in December 2001. She also cites political reasons for her move, saying that she disagreed with the Bush administration's decisions after 9/11. "Things are totally different here because they care about their people here," she says, explaining that she's only been back home once or twice.
Good news, eh?
Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
