I was just wondering. In America, when people are angry about politics, they often say, “If so-and-so wins the election, I’m moving to Canada!” Not that they do, as far as I know.
So, northern neighbors: do fed-up Canadians say they’re going to move to America?
Have you ever encountered large groups of bitter ex-Americans? 
Not for political reasons. I know many people who’ve moved across the border in both directions, but usually for work.
Canadians (to my personal irritation, but there it is) define themselves in part by not being Americans; it would be very strange indeed for someone to define the extent of their displeasure by threatening to move to the USA. I’m sure someone somewhere has done it, but it’s not a celebrity meme the way it is in the States.
I’ve encountered plenty of Canadians migrating south.
Most are in giganto-SUVs, heading to Texas and Florida. Probably all are political refugees. 
Yes, they do…but mostly in response to their winters, not because of their politics.
I’ve certainly heard of nurses and doctors moving to the U.S. because they don’t like the pay they get under the Canadian health care system. That’s sort of a political reason, I suppose (although mainly an economic one).
No. As bad as things have been here, I’ve never encountered that sentiment.
In the last year or two things look better economically for Canada than for the U.S. so I doubt anyone would threaten to move to the U.S. now simply to make a political statement.
Our right-most political party is still left of the Dems. I think if we were unhappy politically we’d threaten to move to a Scandinavian country.
Go south, like Florida, in the winter and you are ass deep in Canadians. It is about escaping the weather.
Those are climate change refugees; they are fleeing the changing climate (every fall).
Again, not for politial reasons. Our conservatives are much more liberal than yours.
I do threaten to switch provinces however.
Okay, thanks.
I should mention a political cartoon I saw in 2004 that comes to mind whenever someone says they’re going to Canada. The two big topics in the news were (1) the election and (2) something about people buying medicine from Canada because it was cheaper. So the cartoon had a picture of a guy saying, “If Bush wins I’m moving to Canada!” Next panel: guy is reading a paper with the headline “Bush wins!” Third panel, “…I’m going to buy my drugs there.”
I moved from Canada to the US for work. Nothing political though, just wanted to live somewhere new. And the day I come down with any kind of illness requiring more than basic health care is the day I haul ass back.
I think “I’m moving to Canada” is just another example of the drama queening that makes up the backbone of American politics. In Canada, government is not such Serious Business for most people.
I don’t get it…
Then again, given the general quality of political humour, maybe I do get it and it’s just not that funny.
Our family DID move from Canada to the US for political reasons, though economics also played a role.
It was 1977 in Montreal. The separatists had come to power for the first time a few months earlier. They were beginning to enact more stringent language laws protecting French. My Dad knew that he would not be able to live in this new paradigm. Coming from Hungary, he had already had to learn two foreign languages in his life: First German, then English. He was too old to learn a third to the extent that would be necessary to remain employable.
My parents had earned a living by managing my uncle’s lumberyard, which they did entirely in English, except for the tiny bit of French they had picked up on the side. But the lumberyard was not doing well and would be gone within a few years. My Dad knew that, so he knew that to remain in Montreal he’d have to get a “real” job, which would be impossible with his lack of French.
So we moved to Los Angeles. We were all US citizens already, so we had no legal issues with the move.
I remember when Rush Limbaugh said he’d move to Costa Rica if Obama’s health care reform passed. Which was a bit odd because Costa Rica has a fully government-run, universal healthcare system already. I’m not sure there are any other countries in the world which have healthcare systems that are both decent quality and more free-market orientated than the US (Canada’s certainly fails on the latter) so I guess he was having trouble grasping around for a country to threaten to move to. I don’t think he went in the end.
and then moving back because of the incredible bureaucracy of American healthcare.
(sorry - no cite, but I have heard of that and you didn’t provide a cite either :D)
Canadians threaten to move to Europe.
One of the problems I, as a Canadian, have; is that nobody wants to take me. Many Americans seem to think that “a citizen of the Commonwealth” has all kinds of mobility rights. No, that is not the case.
The US: Sure, if I apply and win the lottery they have.
The UK: Contrary to what many Americans think, I, as a member of the Commonwealth, have no right to move to the UK. I have to apply for residency the same as any US citizen.
Australia: Same as for the UK: I have to apply the same as any US citizen.
New Zealand: Ditto.
India: Ditto.
South Africa: Ditto.
In short, I have no place I can go easily. Commonwealth membership means nothing. The US is the logical choice if I want to go someplace where the culture and language is approximately the same.
However, no matter what our governments do, it is not bad enough to move to the US. Yes, I’d love to be able to buy guns at a shop, no (or few) questions asked. But the idea that I have a deductible on health insurance, and co-pays, bothers me. I just go to the doctor, and show my provincial health card, and everything’s taken care of from there.
Just as a matter of perspective, the working majority – those that have insurance – don’t mind it so much. High pay compensates for high deductibles. It’s like auto insurance. If you have the money, it’s better to pay a higher deductible. All you hear are the sad stories. There are a lot of them, and it’s sad, but you don’t sound like you’d be a sad story case.
Although it’s my understanding that any Commonwealth citizen with a grandparent born in the UK has right of return.
Canadians frequently go south for the climate- especially to Florida. I’ve never heard anyone threaten to leave for political reasons. I actually have encountered a group of draft-dodgers who just decided to hang around. There’s even a song about it.
Another vote on the climate but not necessarily on a change in citizenship.
In grad school, one of my Canadian colleagues explained that he loved Houston. Our “winter” is generally mild and sometimes warm, and he didn’t mind the blisteringly hot summers we have. The occasional below freezing temperatures are laughable even by Texas panhandle standards, much less Canadian standards.
He did complain slightly about having to deal with the hassle of dealing with both the Canadian and US governments on income (as our stipends were certainly taxable), but he didn’t mind it much. He intended to remain a Canadian citizen for the health care, despite no intention of returning permanently to Canada. From what I gathered, health care (not any sense of patriotism) was his only reason for preferring permanent residence in the US rather than outright citizenship.
So, best of both worlds - better climate in the South with the cheaper yet still excellent health care of our Northern Brethren.