Google searches for 'How to move to Canada' spike after Trump win
The Trump Train just roared through Super Tuesday and a handful of Americans want off. Now.
Google searches for "How to move to Canada" surged in the hours after Donald Trump won primaries in seven states, putting him that much closer to the presidency.
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Google Data Editor Simon Rogers first pointed out the trend, tweeting that interest had spiked 350% late Wednesday.
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But that was only the beginning.
By midnight, the query rose 1,150%, before settling back down somewhere around the 500% mark on the day. (Rogers said on Twitter the numbers were "dynamic changing data." By Wednesday morning Google said searches for "Move to Canada" were "higher than at any time in Google history.")
Better yet, the majority of the searches seemed to be coming from Massachusetts, where Trump won in a landslide with 49% of the vote.
So many Americans were searching for instructions on leaving this great nation that the Canadian government's website seemed to be having problems.
An error message on the site at 12:06 a.m. ET read: "You may experience delays while using the website. We are working to resolve this issue. Thank you for your patience."
It wasn't clear, however, if that message was related to the spike in searches. However, it wasn't there in February, according to an archived version of the website on the Wayback Machine, and it was cited for the first time in tweets on Tuesday.
Either way, the website has a handy tool for determining eligibility. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
The good news: If you really want to leave, you've got at least nine more months before making the final call.
The bad: Trump's already got a footprint in Canada — his Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto is steps from downtown and offers diners "classic American cuisine" should expats seek it.
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Topics Donald Trump Elections
Brian Ries was Mashable’s Real-Time News Editor. In this position, Brian was the point person in developing real-time responses to breaking news and developing stories, using live-blogging tools on Mashable.com as well as Mashable’s prime social media accounts. As Real-Time News Editor he ensured that Mashable’s live news and news-based social content is immediate, urgent and engaging to its audience.
