Canada Beckons Disappointed Leftists From U.S.

By Gene Johnson

Nov. 21, 2004 12 AM PT

Associated Press Writer

SEATTLE —

Got the blue-state blues? Rudi Kischer feels your pain.

The Vancouver, British Columbia, immigration lawyer plans seminars in three U.S. cities -- Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles -- to tell Americans frustrated with President Bush’s reelection that the grass is greener north of the border. And that’s not just an allusion to Canada’s lenient marijuana laws.

“We started last year getting a lot of calls from Americans dissatisfied with the way the country is going,” Kischer says. “Then, after the election, it’s been crazy up here. The Canadian immigration website had 115,000 hits the day after the election -- from the U.S. alone. We usually only get 20,000 hits.”

There was so much interest that a Vancouver-based Internet company, Communicopia, set up a new website this month -- www.canadianalternative.com -- to suggest Canada as a viable option for its American clients, including anyone concerned about constitutional bans on gay marriage passed in 11 states this month.

“We invite you to get to know Canada,” the site says. “Explore the richness and diversity of our regions. And find out why Canada is the perfect alternative for conscientious, forward-thinking Americans.” Canada suddenly has utopian appeal for many left-leaning Americans. Its universal healthcare, gay rights, abortion rights, gun laws, drug laws, opposition to the Iraq war, ban on capital punishment and ethnic diversity mirror many values of the American left. Immigrants, including an estimated 1 million Americans, make up nearly 20% of Canada’s population. The United Nations named Toronto the world’s most multicultural city.

And, as Michael Moore pointed out in “Bowling for Columbine” -- required viewing for many lefties -- in Canada there’s apparently no reason to lock your door. Combine that with hockey, terrific needle exchange programs and moose -- hey, what’s not to love?

Well, all the extra U’s (colour, neighbour ... ), for one thing. It’s cold. The baseball’s not very good -- so long, Expos. And the taxes are higher, eh?

But, as one American who has his bags nearly packed likes to say, at least the taxes go toward good causes.

“I just like their way of life a lot better, and with everything the Bush administration has done -- for the American people to give him their seal of approval, it’s basically the last straw,” says Ralph Appoldt, a resident of Portland, in the barely blue state of Oregon.

“Canada’s basic population is much more intelligent, polite and civilized. I like their way of government a lot better. Their tax dollars go to helping those who need it, instead of funneling money back up to the wealthy and feeding this huge military-industrial machine.”

Appoldt, 50, a sales manager, and his wife, a nurse, figure that selling their house and getting their immigration approved could take more than a year. But they’re moving, they insist. They’ve already hired Kischer to help.

Although he may see a good business opportunity after the election, Kischer has no illusions of a mass American exodus to Canada. Yanks have to follow the same procedures as everybody else -- including the $500 application fee, the $975 landing tax, and the wait of six months to two years. He expects about 100 people at each of the how-to-move-to-Canada seminars, all scheduled in blue states -- Dec. 4 in Seattle, Dec. 5 in Los Angeles and Dec. 6 in San Francisco.

Nancy Bray, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said her agency’s website received 261,000 hits from the United States in the two days after the election, but it would be many months before officials could determine how many of them were serious.

“Our interest, our goal, is to attract the best possible immigrants,” Bray says. “If there’s a lot of publicity about our country, that’s to our benefit. But we’re not interested in people’s political leanings or political dissatisfaction.”

Jason Mogus, Communicopia’s chief executive, said that although his company wanted to help interested Americans, moving to Canada should be plan B.

“We strongly encourage Americans to stay and build a culture in line with their values,” Mogus said. “In other words, stay and fight.”

On the Web:

Kischer’s law firm: https://www.embarkationlaw.com/

Citizenship and Immigration Canada: https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/

Canadian Alternative: https://www.canadianalternative.com/

Marry an American: https://www.marryanamerican.ca/

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Reasons to Move North

Reasons to move to Canada, as cited by www.canadianalternative.com:

* Canada has universal public healthcare.

* Canada has no troops in Iraq.