Sigh, People Really Are Interested in Coming to Canada Because of Justin Trudeau

According to new research provided by Movehub's 2017 Global Moving Trends Report, Canada has become the world's fifth most popular destination to move to, and [deep sigh] it definitely has a little to do with the world's infatuation over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Movehub, a site that helps people relocate around the world, analyzed data from over 360,000 moving inquiries and found that whenever Trudeau was trending on social media—such as shortly after his election or his epic handshake with US President Donald Trump—enquires about moving to Canada doubled.

Movehub believes that millennials from all over the world are most likely turning to Canada because of growing pockets of right-wing populism throughout the West. They believe this because in 2017, when Trudeau first met Trump (and Ivanka Trump), searches to move to Canada peaked. They also found that post Brexit, UK searches to move to Canada increased 308 percent. They found that people aren't necessarily researching about the places they intend to travel to as much, instead they're basing their decisions to move solely on viral social trends.

On the other hand, people are losing interest in moving to the US. Since Trump took the throne, moving enquires to the US dropped 10 percent according to Movehub. In a survey, Movehub also discovered "that over a quarter of respondents said that Trump's presidency has put them off ever wanting to move to America."

While the above is hardly a scientific survey, Canada's immigration numbers really did jump in 2016, however, with 320,932 new immigrants landing that year, the most in years.

But look, I get that people are likely just doing the grass is greener kind of thing every time they see Trudeau talking woke next to Donald Trump or when Grandma completely fucks up the economy. But if you are actually serious about moving to Canada, here's a small primer on things you need to know:

If you want to live in a big city, you basically have four main options: Toronto and Vancouver—which are both extremely expensive, Montreal, which is not, but is extremely cold in the winter and is also pretty French, and Calgary, which is Canada's Houston.

If you are a progressive, you will likely be very disappointed with Trudeau's actual policies and to learn about Canada's colonial history and treatment of its Indigenous Peoples. Canada is one of the richest countries on the planet and there's a suicide crisis among young Indigenous people. Canada's record on the environment only looks good when you compare it to Trump's.

Canada's economy is rolling right now but jobs are scarce in many parts of the country. The gorgeous Atlantic provinces on the East Coast have high unemployment rates compared to the rest of the country and even Alberta, Canada's Texas, is still struggling since oil prices plummeted. Canada has a strong banking system and growing tech sector, but you will pay to live close to those jobs.

Immigrating to Canada is not so simple either. At the very least, you definitely can't just "move" here—doing so legally means money, time, and a whole lot of bureaucracy (if you're even eligible).

Weed will be legal in 2018.

Anyway, there are some Canadian stereotypes you've probably heard about that I've got to fact check as well. We do say 'sorry' a lot but we're really not any more friendly than the average American or Brit. Our major cultural institutions are a big coffee chain and Drake in the cities, Nickleback in the Saskatchewans. Every year there's a 'could X be Canada's newest national sport' debate but hockey remains far and away the most popular sport in country. If you haven't grown up playing it, you will always be bad at it. Sorry.

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