Americans Are Looking for Canadian Dates, and Love Is Just a Bonus

Some people go on dating apps looking for connection. Others go looking for dual citizenship.

A growing number of U.S. singles are switching their Tinder and Hinge locations to Canadian cities—Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal—not just for romance, but for relief. From politics, from health care bills, from burnout.

“It’s a breath of fresh air compared to the chaos we’ve got going on in the U.S. now,” Ellie Coverdale, a 39-year-old teacher in Arizona, told The Star. She changed her app location to Toronto in 2024, just before the election. “A few friends have moved to Canada recently and they’ve all raved about how great the culture and political scene is. So I thought, ‘Why not check it out for myself?’”

She’s not the only one thinking that far north. After Trump’s re-election, the dating app MapleMatch—literally created to pair Americans with Canadians post-2016—saw another surge. Over 5,500 people joined after the election, with 1,000 signing up on Election Day.

“I get tons of emails from people in the U.S. who are really frustrated and want me to help them find someone who meets their values,” said founder Joe Goldman. “They live in small towns, feel isolated, and hope someone in Canada might actually get them.”

For some, that “someone” might also come with free health care. Dating profiles now regularly include lines like “Will marry for health care and emotional stability” or “Looking for love and an exit strategy.”

Even older adults are in on it. Chapter 2 Dating, a service for widows and widowers, says requests from Americans to be featured on their Canadian platform have doubled.

According to Tinder’s Year in Swipe report, Mexico and Canada were the top cross-border targets for Americans in 2024. “Singles are being more intentional,” said Tinder’s CMO Melissa Hobley. “They’re being upfront about what they want and refusing to settle.”

But not everyone on the other end of the match is convinced. “I started talking to someone on an app only to learn he was in Florida,” said Toronto-based content creator Jess Katzman. “We still talk, but less seriously. People say they’ll move, but will they actually follow through?”

Relationship coach Channa Bromley puts it bluntly: “When a country feels unstable, so does the dating pool.” For some, falling in love across a border isn’t merely a romantic idea—it feels like survival.