Donald Trump's success prompts Americans to call Windsor immigration lawyer

Donald Trump's success on Super Tuesday — he won seven states in the Republican presidential primaries — has some Americans asking, "How do I move to Canada?" But they're not just asking the question on the internet. 

While the number of Google searches for "how can I move to Canada?" increased dramatically, an immigration lawyer in Windsor, Ont., says he has been overwhelmed with phone calls from Americans asking that very question, eight months ahead of the U.S. elections in November. 

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"[Donald Trump] won his first primary, and I got a couple of calls. He won his second primary, I got a couple more calls," Eddie Kadri told CBC News. "Since Super Tuesday, it's been insane." 

Kadri said he's received 70 or 80 calls since the beginning of the Republican primaries, 20 of which came in the days following Super Tuesday this week. Calls come from a range of Americans across eight states, including Tennessee, Alabama, North and South Carolina, California and Florida. 

"The concern is the voices of the middle are being drowned out by these politics," he said. "People are reaching out and looking at Canada as an alternative. They simply don't see a future for them in the country they love." 

This time's different

Kadri said this is not the first time he's had Americans enquiring about moving to Canada. 

When George W. Bush was re-elected president in 2004, he also got calls, but not nearly as many as the last few days. 

"It caught me off guard," he said. "It's not unprecedented. I just really didn't think it would happen this early ... to see so many Americans concerned."

Following George W. Bush's re-election, Kadri said the number of calls dwindled with time. He saw a "high number of calls, but a low number of actual applicants." 

This time feels different for Kadri.

"Now, the volume of calls is much, much higher and the issues they're expressing to me about their country are much greater and worrisome," he said.

"One of the people I spoke with is already taking initial preparations. He hired a real estate agent. He's buying property here. He went to a Royal Bank and sat with the branch manager and opened an account here." 

But will they follow through?

Prof. Saeed Khan, who teaches history and politics at Wayne State University in Detroit, thinks people are "absolutely" considering a move to Canada.

Khan said the "uncertainty and bleakness" of the prospect of a Trump presidency is driving some Americans to at least consider Canada.

"There's always going to be a sentiment that people have that perhaps their sense of belonging they have to the United States is now something they're seriously questioning," Khan said. "Whether they follow through on filing the immigration papers to Canada is really a different question.

"But it seems to indicate that what people held dear, sacred and perhaps permanent, is something they don't feel anymore."

Khan said some Democrats feel they relate more closely to Canada right now. The contrast between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump is very stark, he said.

"Prime Minister Trudeau is somebody who is very much adored by many Americans, both for his resolve and his integrity. As a result of that, I think, whereas before people were doing some Google searches about Canada, the number is going up by the day," he said.

"On the political left, they're wondering if this is an America that resembles anything to which they're accustomed and whether they feel comfortable living in it."