Mexicans head north for a better life. Way north.

Born, educated, and married in Mexico City, this young, upper-middle class couple turned to one another one day and said, "Let's leave."

"I could not picture the future or having kids in Mexico," says Maria Carral, a graphic designer. "We were both really tired of the insecurity, the traffic, the economic ups and downs.... We were ready to move on to a better life."

Like so many Mexicans, Maria and her husband chose to move north - but in their case, that meant Canada, not the United States.

For a small but growing number of Mexicans the promised land of "El Norte" means life above the 49th parallel. And while the US is fortifying its borders and tightening entry requirements, Canada is putting out the welcome mat.

"Canada has awakened to Mexico and vice versa," says Mendel Green, an immigration lawyer in Canada. "It's a fit."

To date, the number of Mexicans going to the far north is only a trickle compared with the flood still heading to the US each year. In 1995, just 482 Mexicans became permanent residents of Canada, according to the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (CIC). By 2004, that number had more than tripled, to 1,648. (By comparison, the US gave 173,664 immigrant visas to Mexicans in 2004.)

"Canada needs immigrants," explains Canada's ambassador to Mexico, Gaëtan Lavertu, flatly. Canada's vast land, small population (32 million), and low birthrate (about 1.61 children per couple), combined with its strong economic growth (the fastest of all the G-8 countries in the past 10 years) explains this attitude. "We have always looked at immigration as a way to bring in new talent and faces. And now the dynamism of our economy requires it," says the ambassador.

This emerging migratory shift began with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) a decade ago, and has gathered steam in the the past five years says Mr. Green, whose firm has been in operation for 45 years.

Carral and her husband, Andreas Anhalt, a chef, are part of this group of Mexicans who are looking at Canada in a new light. "When I was little, we thought Canada was for camping. If you wanted to send your kid to summer camp, Canada was the best," says Carral. "Now we are smarter."

"Word is getting out that Canada is a great place," says David Rosenblatt, another Canadian immigration lawyer whose firm runs weekend information seminars in Mexico that are attracting more than 1,000 people a night.

"We need skilled workers, but also blue collar - carpenters, roofers, welders. You name it," says Mr. Rosenblatt.

Green agrees. "We are bringing in senior IT [Information Technology] people and we're bringing in tool and die makers. Mexico produces everything we need. "

According to the Canadian Embassy in Mexico, there are between 40,000 and 50,000 Mexican-born Canadians living legally and permanently in Canada today, while 10,000 come each year to study, and some 200,000 visit every year as tourists.

The biggest growth, however, has been in the number of Mexican temporary workers going to Canada. In 1995, 5,383 Mexicans received temporary visas, the majority under a special seasonal agricultural workers program. By 2004 the number was 11,340 - making it the second largest group of temporary workers in Canada, after US citizens.

But some critics say Canada is being naive and creating a pipeline for illegal immigrants who will stay. The US border patrol, for example, estimates that more than half a million Mexicans enter the US illegally every year.

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