Erica Alini highlights an Association for Canadian Studies report [PDF] showing the number of Americans emigrating to Canada has hit a 30 year high, with nearly 11,000 headed north.
Although the Canadian study does not provide statistics about the emigrants’ motivations, anecdotal evidence suggests that post-9/11 U.S. policies are a major drive for the move. Other reasons may include Canada’s generous healthcare system and Canada’s tolerance for gay marriage, as American emigrate Tom Kertes tells ABCNews.
That’s anecdotal, indeed, considering the ebb and flow in the numbers over the years:
Despite a massively larger population, US migration to Canada is well short of where it was in the 1970s.
And then there’s this:
Given that the net loss to Canada in each year far exceeds the number of Americans headed north, are we to infer that it’s because they prefer our anti-terrorism policies, health care system, and stance on gays? Or, perhaps, are there reasons other than politics that explain why people chose to move to another country?
