Saturday November 6, 07:34 AM

Americans flock to Canada's immigration website
By David Ljunggren


Click to enlarge photo

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The number of U.S. citizens
visiting Canada's main immigration website has shot up
six-fold as Americans flirt with the idea of
abandoning their homeland after President George W.
Bush's election win this week.

"When we looked at the first day after the election,
November 3, our website hit a new high, almost double
the previous record high," immigration ministry
spokeswoman Maria Iadinardi said on Friday.

On an average day some 20,000 people in the United
States log onto the website, www.cic.gc.ca -- a figure
which rocketed to 115,016 on Wednesday. The number of
U.S. visits settled down to 65,803 on Thursday, still
well above the norm.

Bush's victory sparked speculation that disconsolate
Democrats and others might decide to start a new life
in Canada, a land that tilts more to the left than the
United States.

Would-be immigrants to Canada can apply to become
permanent resident, a process that often takes a year.
The other main way to move north on a long-term basis
is to find a job, which requires a work permit.

But please spare the sob stories.

Asked whether an applicant would be looked upon more
sympathetically if they claimed to be a sad Democrat
seeking to escape four more years of Bush, Iadinardi
replied: "There would be no weight given to statements
of feelings."

Canada is one of the few major nations with an
large-scale immigration policy. Ottawa is seeking to
attract between 220,000 and 240,000 newcomers next
year.

"Let's face it, we have a population of a little over
32 million and we definitely need permanent residents
to come to Canada," said Iadinardi. "If we could meet
(the 2005) target and go above it, the more the
merrier."

But right now it is too early to say whether the
increased interest will result in more applications.

"There is no unusual activity occurring at our visa
missions (in the United States). Having someone who
intends to come to Canada is not the same as someone
actually putting in an application," said Iadinardi.

"We'll only find out whether there has been an
increase in applications in six months."

The waiting time to become a citizen is shorter for
people married to Canadians, which prompted the birth
of a satirical website called www.marryanamerican.ca.

The idea of increased immigration by unhappy Americans
is triggering some amusement in Canada. Commentator
Thane Burnett of the Ottawa Sun newspaper wrote a
tongue-in-cheek guide to would-be new citizens on
Friday.

"As Canadians, you'll have to learn to embrace and use
all the products and culture of Americans, while
bad-mouthing their way of life," he said.




--
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***************
*  Madiba K. Saidy, Ph.D

*  Research Scientist, Atomic Energy of Canada

*  Department of Energy & Natural Resources Canada

*  ====

*  Secretary/Treasurer

*  Joint Division of Surface Science

*  The Chemical Institute of Canada & The Canadian Association of Physicists

******************************************************************************
***************

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