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Offers Abound for Americans Mulling #movingtocanada Over Trump


Protesters demonstrate against Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump in midtown Manhattan in New York City, April 14, 2016.
Protesters demonstrate against Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump in midtown Manhattan in New York City, April 14, 2016.

Some companies are having fun with the threat to move to Canada that people in the U.S. reliably make during every presidential election year.

The idea that life under a particular candidate would be unbearable makes Americans say they want to head to their northern neighbor, though immigration statistics show no such mass migrations ever take place.

Google searches such as "moving to Canada" and "how to move to Canada" spike in the U.S. around election day, and this year have done so during certain contests in the primary season. It happened again Tuesday night as Donald Trump won in Indiana, making him the likely Republican nominee.

Music streaming service Spotify is among those using Twitter to try to ease the transition for those who signal their readiness to flee with the hashtag #movingtoCanada. Spotify is sending users a link to a special website where they can type in the name of an artist and get back suggestions of Canadian musicians they might like.

Not surprisingly given their lack of music careers, searches for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton returned no results. However, a search for Barack Obama did suggest artists Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.

Canadian marketing firm Grey has set up a site called The Trump Clause with suggested language people can use in personal and business agreements in case they decide to flee north. The clauses cover cases such as someone moving to the U.S. for a new job getting their moving expenses reimbursed if Trump is elected and they suddenly leave. Another calls for giving a person a way to break off a relationship with someone who lives in the U.S.

"(Insert name) shall be entitled to terminate all romantic relations with (insert name of U.S. based partner) upon the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Following the immediate dissolution of this relationship, (insert name) shall be free of any guilt or moral culpability associated with initiating said break-up," the clause reads.

With the low number of people who actually follow through on their threats, another company is offering help in testing out the transition first.

Travel website Hotels.com tweeted a link Tuesday to a special page inviting people to "be a tourist before becoming a resident" and visit Canada before the November election.

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