(John Locher/AP)
For Americans hoping for a Clinton presidency, and watching this week’s Republic National Convention with growing dismay, packing up and moving to the Great White North can seem awfully appealing. At least, that’s what some Canadian companies are banking on. While tweets and posts about leaving the country are par for the course when it comes to election season, the arrival of a certain loud-mouthed billionaire has added an element of serious reflection to the would-be casual statements. In fact, according to Mashable, Google searches about moving to Canada shot up 350% in February. With this in mind, a few Canadian companies have jumped on the anti-Trump bandwagon, in an attempt to gain the favour of these would-be Canadians.
Air Canada
Truly the master of the snarky ad, Air Canada set the bar high with their “test drive Canada” campaign.
The beauty of the ad lies in its simplicity—the brand is appealing to Americans who may have very well typed the words “How Can I Move to Canada?” into their search bar. And while an airline can’t promise to help customers navigate the precarious process of immigration, it can certainly offer the next best thing—a test drive, to get a feel for what might be their new home.
Sortable
With so much of Canada’s tech-talent making their way to Silicon Valley, Waterloo-based startup Sortable decided to try and woo some of them back.
The growing company posted an oh-so-flattering shot of Trump, accompanied by a cheeky “Feeling Homesick?” and a link to their job application page. No word yet on whether it had any Bay Area Canucks scrambling to fill out an application, but the campaign certainly gave the startup a decent boost on social media.
Canadian Girlfriend
For the American citizen who wants to escape a political nightmare and find a little romance, there’s Canadian Girlfriend.
For $50, Americans looking to flee to colder climates can be matched with a single Canadian woman, of which “there are multitudes,” according to the site’s creator, Sofi Papamarko. In terms of finding “the one,” Papamarko has said, “You already both think Donald Trump is the worst, so that’s a decent starting point, right?”
Maple Match
Because the variety is the spice of life, and in case you weren’t satisfied by Canadian Girlfriend’s offerings, there’s also Maple Match.
As far as slogans go, “make dating great again” is hard to top. Unfortunately for lovelorn would-be Canadians, the site is currently just a waiting list. But hey, there’s plenty of time until November to find that special northern someone to save you from four-years of this kind of thing.
The Globe and Mail
An honourable shout-out goes to the newspaper, which seems to be placing its print ads very strategically of late.
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