Trump Era Trump-fleeing Americans crash Canadian migration website
“Citizenship and Immigration Canada,” the country’s immigration website, crashed with high traffic volumes at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday (local time) as Americans who feared a Trump win rushed the site to seek an exit to Canada. / Screen capture from “Citizenship and Immigration Canada”
By Hong Dam-young
Some Americans joked about crossing the border to Canada if Donald Trump became the president, but it is not a joke anymore.
“Citizenship and Immigration Canada,”
the country’s immigration website
, crashed with high traffic volumes at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday (local time) as Americans who feared a Trump win rushed the site to seek an exit to Canada.
Twitter lit up in the U.S. with news of the crash and the error message. Netizens on Facebook also shared the news.
Canadian immigration ministry officials did not immediately respond to the website problems.
Canada has been touted as a refuge among Americans against Trump, with its generous Syrian refugee program, decent welfare system and its Obama-friendly Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- the values Trump has been railing against during his campaign.
In March, Trudeau embraced the idea of welcoming Americans fleeing Trump at a global town hall hosted by Huffington Post Canada.
Trudeau promoted Cape Breton on Canada’s Atlantic coast in Nova Scotia as a place to live, saying: “Cape Breton is lovely, all times of the year.” The island’s website in February branded the place as a “refuge for Americans.”
In July, Air Canada launched its “Test Drive Canada” advertising campaign, inviting Americans to check out the country in case Trump wins.