Feeling blue in the blue states? Canada rolls out welcome mat
Bippy McMaster's new home sits nestled on a mountainside in a town rich in US history - except it's in Canada. Ms. McMaster recently relocated to Nelson, British Columbia, where many Americans moved to protest the Vietnam War more than three decades ago.
McMaster had been thinking for some time about leaving her home in Guala, Calif., north of San Francisco. She says that family life is better in Nelson, with the whole town shutting down on Sundays to spend time with loved ones. The journey, she says, has been one of "mind, body, and spirit." And, of course, furniture.
"It wasn't an easy decision," the 50-year-old former charter school administrator explains. "But Canada just seems like a kinder and gentler society that cares for its people. I feel more at home here than I did in California."
McMaster moved to Nelson in September, on the front edge of a mini-wave of Americans relocating north of the border that began after 9/11 and appears to be gathering momentum since President Bush's reelection. While the number is still small, and Canadians moving to the US still far outpace migration in the other direction, immigration lawyers say business has never been brisker.
Vancouver lawyer Rudi Kischer was so bombarded with phone calls and e-mails from Americans that he hosted three immigration seminars in the US, which ended Monday. Hundreds of Americans flocked to hear him speak in Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
"We've never done anything like his before, but we've had so many calls for consultation, it just made sense," Mr. Kischer said from a Seattle conference center Sunday where it was standing-room only for his 1 1/2-hour presentation. It included legal tips on immigration, plus advice from a financial planner and a real estate agent. "We're hearing from a wide variety of people. Some aren't happy with the Bush administration. Others are worried that their children may be drafted. Some are worried about a return to a McCarthy-type era."
The Bush administration says it has no plans to reinstate the draft.
Canadian immigration lawyers have seen a steady increase in immigration from the US over the past several years - from 4,437 in 1998 to more than 5,353 so far this year. Much of this they attribute to unease in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. The upswing has included many Canadians working in the States who hope to return home with their American spouses. Toronto lawyer Henry Chang says that many of them are concerned about security, and more recently, the weakening US dollar. "There's been a shift back from what's been happening for decades," says Mr. Chang. "Ambitious young Canadians have often gone to the US where the bucks are much bigger. But these days they're asking, 'Is it really worth it?' "
Ralph Appoldt hopes to bring his wife to Canada. The 51-year-old left Winnipeg, Manitoba, for southern California when he was 6. His parents wanted to eke out a better life, as well as escape the Winnipeg winters - notorious for their severity even within a country known for its inclement weather.
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