Looking to flee to Canada come November? Call Jay

It is too early to tell if there will actually be a wave (or even a trickle) of Americans immigrating to Canada if Donald Trump is elected the president of the United States this November. However, based on a spike of more than 350% in Google searches of “how to move to Canada” after Trump won primaries in seven states on Super Tuesday, it would seem that at least some Americans are looking into their options.

Jay Rosenthal, an American Jew who married a Canadian woman and moved to Toronto, wants his compatriots to know they don’t need to go it alone if they choose to cross the 49th parallel. In a new online initiative, he has offered to be their concierge — their go-to guy for all their questions about life in the Great White North.

Rosenthal recently launched “If Trump Then Canada: Helping Americans Escape Since 2016,” a blog on which he posts US election-related items. It also has a page where people can get in touch with Rosenthal.

“I’m here to help. Looking for where you might go, I can help. Seeking which hockey team to root for, I can help. Planning a little visit, need a lawyer or an accountant or just a friendly shoulder to cry on… I’m here,” he tells potential US escapees.

While activist talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres has encouraged Americans to simply go out and vote instead of moving to Canada as a way of preventing a President Trump, there are apparently still some US citizens who think relocating to Cape Breton Island — or any other part of what Pat Buchanan derisively dubbed Canuckistan — is a safer bet.

Rosenthal, 42, told The Times of Israel that he has fielded a handful of email inquiries from people asking about different Canadian cities and neighborhoods.

“I’ve gotten into conversations with them and forwarded them articles and other information,” Rosenthal said.

Rosenthal is also happy to refer people to an attorney and an accountant — both professionals whose services he knows first-hand are helpful to American transplants.

The path to Rosenthal’s relocation north of the border was paved by his 2004 marriage to Dara Solomon, a Jewish community professional from Toronto. After living in San Francisco, where the first of their two children were born, the couple returned to Solomon’s home town.

Having worked in (mostly Democratic) political consulting in Washington, DC and California, Rosenthal now works at a social purpose marketing firm in Toronto. A native of Boston, he loves the life he and his family have in the center of Canada’s largest city.

“Downton Toronto is better than any other place we could live. We have a home with a yard, can walk or bike everywhere, and only need one car. There are good schools here — both private and public. We can live a modern lifestyle with our kids,” he said.

To a large extent his family’s life revolves around the Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School, where the children attend and Rosenthal serves on the board.

Although not that many people have actually contacted Rosenthal for advice, he is pleased to see that his blog has been visited at least a couple hundred times a day since he put it online earlier this month. There’s also been a bit of a buzz about it on social media.

As an American observing the US election campaigns from Canada, Rosenthal finds what is happening “scary but not surprising.”

“The emphasis on celebrity, the populism, and the taking pride in anti-intellectualism that we are seeing are not surprising. The chickens have come home to roost for the Republican party,” he said.

Rosenthal was disappointed that AIPAC invited Trump to speak at its annual policy conference last week.

“There should be concern among American Jews about his rhetoric. His playbook is not dissimilar to Hitler’s in terms of scapegoating and playing on fear of the other,” he observed.

Rosenthal doesn’t think Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders stands a chance of winning.

“But what is interesting is that many of the things he speaks about are widely accepted here in Canada,” he noted.

Although Rosenthal is supportive of fellow Americans “fleeing” to Canada, he cautions US citizens that moving to the True North Strong and Free is not as simple as they might think.

“If you’re not married to a Canadian, if you don’t qualify for refugee status, and if you don’t have a specific professional skills set, it’s not so easy,” he warns.

“But it’s not impossible,” he added, keeping in mind that at this point a Trump victory is also not beyond the realm of possibility.