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Democratic Americans migrating to Canada. [Reuters | Yahoo ]

Unhappy Democrats Need to Wait to Get Into Canada

Wed Nov 3, 1:16 PM ET

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Disgruntled Democrats seeking a safe Canadian haven
after President Bush (news - web sites) won Tuesday's election should
not pack their bags just yet.

Canadian officials made clear on Wednesday that any U.S. citizens so
fed up with Bush that they want to make a fresh start up north would
have to stand in line like any other would-be immigrants -- a wait
that can take up to a year.

"You just can't come into Canada and say 'I'm going to stay here'. In
other words, there has to be an application. There has to be a reason
why the person is coming to Canada," said immigration ministry
spokeswoman Maria Iadinardi.

There are anywhere from 600,000 to a million Americans living in
Canada, a country that leans more to the left than the United States
and has traditionally favored the Democrats over the Republicans.

But recent statistics show a gradual decline in U.S. citizens coming
to work in Canada, which has a creaking publicly funded healthcare
system and relatively high levels of personal taxation.

Government officials, real estate brokers and Democrat activists said
that while some Americans might talk about a move to Canada rather
than living with a new Bush administration, they did not expect a mass
influx.

"It's one thing to say 'I'm leaving for Canada' and quite another to
actually find a job here and wonder about where you're going to live
and where the children are going to go to school," said one government
official.

Roger King of the Toronto-based Democrats Abroad group said he had
heard nothing to back up talk of a possible exodus of party members.

"I imagine most committed Democrats will want to stay in the United
States and continue being politically active there," he told Reuters.

Americans seeking to immigrate can apply to become permanent citizens
of Canada, a process that often takes a year. Becoming a full citizen
takes a further three years.

The other main way to move north on a long-term basis is to find a
job, which in all cases requires a work permit. This takes from four
to six months to come through.

Official statistics show the number of U.S. workers entering Canada
dropped to 15,789 in 2002 from 21,627 in 2000. Early indicators on
Wednesday showed little sign of this changing.

A spokesman for Canada's foreign affairs ministry said there had been
no increase in the number of hits on the Washington embassy's
immigration Web site, while housing brokers said they doubted they
would see a surge in U.S. business.

"Canada's always open and welcoming to Americans who want to relocate
here, but we don't think it would be a trend or movement," said Gino
Romanese of Royal Lepage Residential Real Estate Services in Toronto.

Those wishing to move to Canada could always take a risk and claim
refugee status -- the path chosen earlier this year by two U.S.
deserters who opposed the war in Iraq (news - web sites).

"Anybody who enters Canada who claims refugee status will be provided
with a work permit ... it doesn't matter what country they're from,"
Iadinardi said.

Refugee cases are handled by special boards, which can take months to
decide whether to admit applicants. The rulings can be appealed and
opposition politicians complain some people ordered deported have been
in Canada for 10 years or more.