Tens of thousands of Americans are looking to leave the country following Donald Trump‘s re-election this week.
Google searches for ‘move to Canada‘ surged 1,270% in the 24 hours after U.S. East Coast polls closed on Tuesday, company data shows.
Similar searches about moving to New Zealand climbed nearly 2,000% while those for Australia jumped 820%.
Late Wednesday evening on the U.S. East Coast, Google searches about emigrating were hitting all-time highs for all three countries, according to a Google official.
The search giant does not provide absolute figures but data from the Immigration New Zealand website showed the site logged some 25,000 new U.S. users on November 7, compared to 1,500 for the same day last year.
Some immigration lawyers are also being inundated with queries.
‘Every half hour there is a new email enquiry,’ said Evan Green, managing partner at Canada’s oldest immigration law firm, Green and Spiegel.
The sudden enthusiasm for emigration echoes the interest in moving abroad seen after Trump’s 2016 victory.
This time, however, the Republican’s re-election has followed a particularly divisive campaign in which nearly three-quarters of U.S. voters said they felt American democracy was under threat, according to Edison Research exit polls.
Many Americans are also worried that his presidency could drive a bigger wedge between Democrats and Republicans on issues such as race, gender, what and how children are taught, and reproductive rights.
‘Trump is obviously the impetus, but it’s also societal. The majority of Americans voted for him and some people don’t necessarily feel comfortable living in that kind of society anymore. People are afraid they are going to lose freedoms,’ said Green.
In a Reddit group dedicated to those leaving the U.S., called ‘r/AmerExit,’ hundreds shared suggestions about ideal destinations and tips for getting visas and jobs.
Some users said they feared for their country, their safety, or both after Trump’s election.
Even before the election, those fears were increasingly cited by Americans looking to emigrate to Canada, according to Heather Bell, an immigration consultant at Vancouver law firm Bell Alliance.
Few, however, manage to follow through, said Bell.
‘Immigrating to Canada is not easy, especially now with the government reducing the numbers of temporary and permanent migrants coming to Canada,’ she said.
It comes after a host of American celebrities boldly promised they would leave the U.S. if Trump won.
Numerous stars have already swapped the US for the UK in recent months over fears for the political landscape, abortion rights and gun violence.
Actress Minnie Driver, 54, told The Times of London in July that she had returned to the UK after nearly three decades of living in Los Angeles.
And at the time, she revealed that if Trump were to be re-elected, she would have a hard time returning to America.
‘If I lived in a red [Republican] state, no, I couldn’t [return],’ she said. ‘But living in California, you are somewhat insulated.
‘But do you want to go and live in a bubble? Do you run away from the fire or do you go back and help?’
British star Sophie Turner, 28, told Harper’s Bazaar last month that she realized she had to ‘get the f**k out’ of America due to gun violence and the overturning of Roe v Wade.
The Game of Thrones alum had been living in the states with Joe Jonas and their two children Willa and Delphine. She returned to her native UK in the wake of their acrimonious split last year.
Others have quit in recent months for the benefit of their children, including Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes, while others including Hugh Jackman and Renee Zellweger are reportedly weighing up a relocation.
