| Americans look to move north
Sun, Nov. 07, 2004 by Jim Fox www.myrtlebeachonline.com
Many Americans have a new interest in Canada after the re-election of President Bush - not for flu shots, but to move.
In what's being called "backlash" by fervent Democrats, Canada 's immigration Web site - canada.gc.ca - is flooded with a record number of visits from U.S. residents dismayed over the election results. Immigration lawyers also are busy with calls about moving to Canada .
Many people are doing more than just casual surfing, said Maria Iadinardi of the Citizenship and Immigration Department.
"The most-visited pages were the skilled worker online self-assessment pages to see if they'd meet the selection criteria," she said.
A new record was set within hours of Bush's acceptance speech as six times more Americans than usual at the site, amounting to 115,016 hits.
Prime Minister Paul Martin said he'd welcome aspiring U.S. immigrants but joked they can't say they're refugees or expect preferential treatment.
The number of U.S. immigrants to Canada has slowed to about 5,000 a year from a high of 23,000 during the Vietnam War.
Prime Minister Martin has made a new request to U.S. President George W. Bush to settle cross-border trade irritants.
Martin called Bush on Wednesday to congratulate him on his election victory and also spoke with Democrat John Kerry to congratulate him on his campaign.
Facts and figures
The strength of the Canadian economy - adding 34,000 jobs last month and a steady jobless rate of 7.1 percent - helped pushed the dollar to a 12-year high.
The Canadian dollar is 83.50 cents U.S. , while a U.S. dollar returns $1.19760 Canadian before bank exchange fees.
If you are an American citizen planning to relocate to Canada , you may be eligible for a work permit under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Find out if you qualify for the NAFTA Job Search Program.
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