Election outcome has some looking northward to Canada

By Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporter

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All of a sudden, Canada — proper, level-headed, demure, even — is starting to look mighty fetching.

Some Americans, despondent in the wake of U.S. elections, have been looking longingly at their neighbor up north, with its free health care, gay-friendly laws and centrist politics.

One Yank ordering books about relocating to Canada told British Columbia author Colin Sprake, "Bush is in, I'm out."

Of course, Canadians, who heard this same kind of tortured lament four years ago, aren't taking their American cousins all that seriously. They know life in the land of the Great White North is no fairyland: Taxes are high and winters are long and cold.

Still, hits on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Web site reached nearly 180,000 the day after the U.S. election — nearly three times the average — two-thirds of them from Americans. Toronto attorney Michael Battista said his office is processing more than 100 applications from gay and lesbian couples who want to immigrate to Canada — a quarter of them from contacts made since the election, when 11 states approved constitutional bans on same-sex marriage.

Same-sex couples can legally marry in seven Canadian provinces; a high-court decision expected soon could extend those rights nationwide.

"What little sign of progress American gays saw earlier has been extinguished and there are actual signs of regress," said Battista. "Social-policy trends are going in completely opposite directions in these two countries."

And U.S. parents and students — citing election results and perhaps fearing the possibility of a military draft — have been calling Canadian universities to inquire about enrollment there.

"Canada has long had a welcoming reputation around the world for immigration," said Ray LeBlond, a spokesman for Tourism British Columbia. "That helped create a lot of what the personality of this country is to the rest of the world."

For anyone wishing to relocate, he said, "It could offer a great view of the United States — like a great balcony in a great hotel." Of course, on such a politically sensitive matter, Canada prefers to take the high road, because, well, that's the kind of country it is.
 
But with a population the size of California in a nation second in landmass only to Russia, the Canucks are unlikely to turn folks away. Known for its liberal immigration laws, Canada wants to draw between 220,000 to 245,000 new permanent residents next year. "I'd certainly invite our American cousins to at least visit Canada," said Barry Penner, a member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly and the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, which promotes regional development.

"Our dollar is still at a discount, which means everything is on sale."

But it's not just Canada.

Inquiries from Americans about emigration to Australia and New Zealand are also up.

New Zealander Don Badman, who for a year now has been marketing his South Pacific homeland to Americans, is as giddy as a schoolboy: "We want Americans to come to New Zealand. We have a huge skill-labor shortage there."

Closer to home, the politically disaffected in America will find many Canadian values are in line with their own — from stricter gun laws to abortion rights. Yakima resident Jack Radosevich, 60, said he's been considering a move to B.C. for some time and the election clinched it for him.

"I think the situation in Iraq could ultimately bring reoccurring terrorist attacks to the United States," said Radosevich. "Not only do I not want to be around for that, I want to be established in Canada should it eventually happen."

Canada's graying population means the ideal immigrant is young and educated, with specific job skills. And as British Columbia ramps up for the 2010 Winter Olympics, labor needs will skyrocket. Americans, like other immigrants, can gain permanent residency in Canada as entrepreneurs, having a relative petition on their behalf or by self-petitioning as skilled workers — the most common way. The wait can be up to two years.

"The B.C. economy is leading the rest of Canada in job growth," Penner said. "We're experiencing a bit of a boom here, while in the U.S. things are a bit shaky.

"We're definitely open for business."

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com