You’re either voting for him, or you’re moving to Canada. The undeniably polarizing Donald Trump came away from Super Tuesday as the clear front-runner for the GOP nomination, but it would seem that those who didn’t go to the polls on his behalf are now looking for a way to go … elsewhere. Following this week’s primaries, the search phrase “how to move to Canada” saw a sudden spike on Google, perhaps suggesting that a Trump-led America is not exactly one that all Americans would want to take part of.
Searches for "how can I move to Canada" on Google have spiked +350% in the past four hours #SuperTuesday
— Simon Rogers (@smfrogers) March 2, 2016
The sudden jump wasn’t just a blip on Google’s radar — late Tuesday, Google data editor Simon Rogers noted that the search saw a 350 percent spike in just four hours. But then, things got really out of control. By midnight, the term had peaked over 1,150 percent, and then dropped off to a still impressive 500 percent more than usual. On Wednesday morning, Google Trends tweeted that, “Searches for ‘Move to Canada’ are higher than at any time in Google history.”
Searches for "Move to Canada" are higher than at any time in Google history #SuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/0KBJPrHdEO
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) March 2, 2016
While it’s worth noting that there’s no definitive evidence that it was Trump’s victory that prompted this interest in mass exodus (Hillary Clinton came away the big winner on the Democratic side), even Google seems to think that Canada’s appeal might have a bit more to do with the Donald than anything else. In a chart the search engine posted via Twitter, Trump’s wins in seven states are suggested as the catalyst behind the search spike.
And it would seem that people are doing more than just searching how to move to Canada — in fact, it appears that a number of individuals are very seriously looking into relocating. As Mashable points out, the Canadian government’s website posted an error message in the hours after Super Tuesday, which read, “You may experience delays while using the website. We are working to resolve this issue. Thank you for your patience.” Apparently, the Canadian site isn’t built for so many Americans to be on it at the same time.
So if you’re considering a new home come November’s results, just know you’re not alone.
