# Why do conservative "secede" and progressives "move to Canada"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 9, 2016, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175 "2016-11-09T10:08:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wednesday\_Evening](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Wednesday\_Evening](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wednesday_Evening)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/21 "2016-11-09T19:34:05Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > It’s too goddamned cold there. We’ll just have to tough it out. I hate cold weather. I think I could manage Vancouver though. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/22 "2016-11-09T19:37:29Z")
> [@Wednesday\_Evening](#): > > I’m a progressive in California and I have thought for a long time that California should secede. We have the 8th largest GDP in the world, might as well be our own country. > > Moving to Canada works too though. The whole West Coast should secede. My native land has agriculture, my present one has hydro power. And AIUI, marijuana is now legal on the entire West Coast. (It’s a pity I don’t use it.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/23 "2016-11-09T20:11:01Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > And some manage to longe for the simplicity of a bygone era which is only simpler in their memories. Nostalgia’s not what it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/24 "2016-11-09T22:27:49Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > You do not find confederate nostalgia in: > > Texas > Oklahoma > Florida > Kansas > Nebraska > Iowa > Alaska > West Virginia > Indiana > Wyoming > Utah > Montana > North Dakota > South Dakota Clearly, you’ve never _been_ to Florida. We might be the epicenter of Confederate nostalgia, or at least of Confederate flag-waving. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/25 "2016-11-09T22:36:07Z")
Rush Limbaugh famously said he’ll [leave the country if the Affordable Care Act is implemented](http://www.mediaite.com/online/its-been-5-years-since-rush-limbaugh-promised-to-leave-the-country-in-5-years/). So it’s not just liberals. (Though I can’t remember if anyone said they’d leave if Obama is elected.) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/26 "2016-11-09T23:54:52Z")
Because progressives are under the mistaken impression that Canada is just _ **dying** _ to have a bunch of petulant Americans move there at a whim? I haven’t a clue about secession, though. The only thing I’ve heard about that in the past several years (since the Claremont decision in NH in the early 2000s) is the overnight desire of CA to secede and I don’t think that’s driven by conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/27 "2016-11-10T00:24:40Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Rush Limbaugh famously said he’ll [leave the country if the Affordable Care Act is implemented](http://www.mediaite.com/online/its-been-5-years-since-rush-limbaugh-promised-to-leave-the-country-in-5-years/). So it’s not just liberals. (Though I can’t remember if anyone said they’d leave if Obama is elected.) Some talking head on Fox said today that the recent Obamacare Premiums hike swayed a lot of voters away from Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/28 "2016-11-10T06:22:03Z")
Are you sure that the conservatives want to secede? Some may want to rebel, much like we did with the Brits in 1776. Or am I splitting hairs here? My thoughts are that the conservatives have a problem with the Government, big G, not with their neighbors. They see no need to run from the neighbors. They are also more likely to be farmers & ranchers, at least on a small scale, then liberals are. Thus, they tend to have ties to the land. They also tend to think that since we created this form of government, if it is not working & we can not fix it, we can create a better one next time. Liberals? The ones who can articulate the “run to Canada” idea, seem to be saying “If I do not get my way, I will pick up my marbles & go home!”. The idea seems to be: I do not like this, I am going somewhere else. Canada is seen as “socialist paradise”. I am fairly sure that Canada is much like the USA in that the liberals tend to congregate in the big cities, while rural folks tend to be more conservative, at least that has been my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/29 "2016-11-10T06:32:47Z")
Is this even true? I recall talk of seceding after Obama was elected, but I also recall mocking conservatives on Facebook who were talking about emigrating to Australia to avoid living in the USA under Obama. Not only do we have gun control and universal health care, but at the time we had an unmarried, atheist, childless, female prime minister heading up a liberal government. I don’t think this country was the escape they were looking for. And I’ve already seen Facebook posts urging California and Hawaii to secede this time. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/30 "2016-11-10T07:58:58Z")
> [@48Willys](#): > > The idea seems to be: I do not like this, I am going somewhere else. Erm… wasn’t that rather the point of America in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/31 "2016-11-10T10:12:36Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > It’s too goddamned cold there. We’ll just have to tough it out. Depends where. Certainly the prairies get damn cold in winter, but so does the northern part of the US midwest. The west coast tends to have mild weather, only marginally cooler than northern California. Parts of Ontario are actually farther south than parts of northern California; we don’t have the mitigating effects of the Pacific coast, so we get hotter summers and colder winters. Few places in the world can lay claim to the wonderful climate with which much of California is blessed, but OTOH we don’t get earthquakes, wildfires, mudslides, or lunatic Republicans. Some of the southernmost bits of Ontario are becoming prime wine country, helped along by global warming. Winters are still cold by California standards but in places like St. Catharines average winter lows fall below freezing only two months a year, January and February, and only sometimes. Farther north, Toronto can have cold snaps in the winter but doesn’t usually get very much snow. Real Canadian winters of the kind that make you pile on an extra set of beaver pelts and ear muffs are found on the prairies and, among major population centers, Montreal and Ottawa which outdo Toronto in both cold and snow. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![HowSoonIsThen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@HowSoonIsThen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HowSoonIsThen)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/32 "2016-11-10T10:13:44Z")
> [@48Willys](#): > > I am fairly sure that Canada is much like the USA in that the liberals tend to congregate in the big cities, while rural folks tend to be more conservative, at least that has been my experience. I think this is true of most places. Even in smaller countries, the divide tends to be “big city progressives” vs “small town conservatives”. > [@Eliahna](#): > > And I’ve already seen Facebook posts urging California and Hawaii to secede this time. Yeah, liberals are trying to prove me wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/33 "2016-11-10T10:56:37Z")
I’d be okay with Canada annexing the West Coast states and what is now New England but which would become Old America under our rule. You just can’t bring any guns into “legacy” provinces. We have enough of that shit already. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/34 "2016-11-10T13:16:48Z")
[I think you need to update your assumptions.](http://www.businessinsider.com/calexit-explainer-california-plans-to-secede-2016-11) ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/35 "2016-11-10T13:27:38Z")
Hm! I wonder how large an impact that would have on the CA economy if such a measure were to actually get voted on and passed. If CA were to actually \ to secede from the union. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/36 "2016-11-10T16:22:43Z")
> [@guestchaz](#): > > Hm! > > I wonder how large an impact that would have on the CA economy if such a measure were to actually get voted on and passed. If CA were to actually \ to secede from the union. Would the Republicans have mixed feelings? The departure of California’s 55 electoral votes and mostly-blue congressional districts makes their control of the remaining 49 states far more certain. Even more so if Oregon and Washington go as well. Sure, they lose that “sea to shining sea” thing (unless you count Alaska and pretend Canada doesn’t exist, but they do that already) but the REAL Americans will finally be in charge! There is a balm in Gilead! ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/37 "2016-11-10T16:49:23Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Would the Republicans have mixed feelings? The departure of California’s 55 electoral votes and mostly-blue congressional districts makes their control of the remaining 49 states far more certain. Even more so if Oregon and Washington go as well. Sure, they lose that “sea to shining sea” thing (unless you count Alaska and pretend Canada doesn’t exist, but they do that already) but the REAL Americans will finally be in charge! There is a balm in Gilead! All those cheap goods from China might become more expensive if they had to go through a foreign country. California exports many agricultural products to the rest of teh US – that might be a problem, but they also “import” a lot of water to grow them. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/38 "2016-11-10T17:00:37Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > All those cheap goods from China might become more expensive if they had to go through a foreign country. I thought President Trump was going to tariff those anyway. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/39 "2016-11-10T17:31:24Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > All those cheap goods from China might become more expensive if they had to go through a foreign country. California exports many agricultural products to the rest of teh US – that might be a problem, but they also “import” a lot of water to grow them. California also has oil. If California were an independent nation, [we know how this would go](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175/40 "2016-11-10T17:45:02Z")
People saying they’d leave the country if the wrong guy got elected used to be a bipartisan thing. [Here’s a 1980 Art Buchwald column about it](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/07/22/o-canada-o-election-day-o-forget-it/dd86ee35-a222-46a0-8c65-1a29def82588/), referencing the 1968 through 1976 elections. Conservatives have fairly recently replaced Canada with secession; liberals just carry on the old tradition. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservative-secede-and-progressives-move-to-canada/771175.md?page=3)