It’s not just the relentless parade of deadly mass shootings, the draconian assault on abortion rights or even the prospect of Donald Trump’s return that has Mackenzie Freskes exploring a move to Canada. Rather, it is the persistent sense that in the United States, a country that is supposed to respect Abraham Lincoln’s government, by and for the people, it is unable to do anything about it. “I really feel kind of hopeless,” said Fresquez, 29, who lives in the Denver suburb of Lakewood with her husband, Isaac. Both are avid outdoorsmen who work as land surveyors in Colorado, where Fresquez moved from Ohio so she could frolic in the shadows of her beloved Rocky Mountains and one day start a family. But sending kids to school in the U.S. no longer seems like a good idea, he said — and there’s no reason to think that will change. “Even if we elect all the right people — which, even that takes a lot in a country that’s so divided — it’s just how our government is set up and how it works right now,” Fresquez said. “I just feel like there’s nothing I can really do, even if I become an extreme activist and get everyone to vote — I don’t really know if it would change that much.” Her adopted home has a dark history of mass shootings: Littleton, home of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, is nearby, as is Aurora, where a gunman killed 12 people at a late-night movie premiere a decade ago. Since May, three mass shootings — Buffalo, N.Y., Uvalde, Tex., and Highland Park, Ill. — killed 36 people over two months, including 19 children in a Texas elementary school classroom. Just last year, Fresquez said, a friend left a grocery store in Boulder just 20 minutes before a gunman walked in and killed 10 people. “It’s things like this that just remind me that it really can happen anywhere.” Statistics from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada show a fairly steady increase in the number of people from the US granted permanent residency in Canada each year since 2015. After a sharp drop in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the number of successful applicants in the US reached 11,950 in 2021, down from just 7,655 in 2015 and the highest annual total since at least 1980. So far, 2022 is shaping up to be another year: 3,235 applications were approved in the first quarter, the highest total for that quarter in eight years. In total, 70,330 US applications have been approved since the end of 2014, including 5,040 in the first five months of 2022 alone. Progressive Americans have no shortage of motivation. Top of mind for many is the Supreme Court’s decision last month to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that for nearly 50 years had essentially guaranteed a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion. Fresquez, whose husband is Hispanic, said she fears a crumbling separation between church and state in a country where a conservative Supreme Court is dramatically reshaping America’s social and cultural contours. The couple is exploring a move to Alberta, obtaining work permits under a section of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that streamlines the approval process for about 60 different professional occupations. “There are other precedents based on the same precedent that they denied when they overturned Roe, one of which was interracial marriage,” he said. “That’s maybe a bit extreme, but what if something like this were to be overturned? Would it affect our marriage?” Jo Kreyling, a video game developer who runs Pillow Fight Games from her home in northern Virginia with her husband Conrad, said she is actively planning to move her family to Vancouver Island. Kreiling wants to have another child. But her family vacations every year in North Carolina, one of about 20 states where a post- Roe crackdown on abortion is already in place or underway. “If I have an ectopic pregnancy on the Outer Banks in two years, will it be safe for me?” he wonders aloud. “From the big things like Roe v. Wade to the extremely local thing, everything affects the No. 1 idea of ’It’s not safe to have a family here.’ A vivid illustration of America’s hysteria over abortion is playing out this week in Indiana, where the shocking case of a 10-year-old rape victim has become a volatile political flashpoint. The girl, who could not get an abortion in her home state of Ohio, traveled to Indiana for the procedure, which was reported under state laws that prohibit abortions after 22 weeks except in medical emergencies. But that didn’t stop the state’s attorney general from pledging to investigate the doctor who did it, and some right-wing lawmakers and the media from initially doubting the reports were true. Pulling up stakes and moving to Canada is, of course, harder than it sounds. While the federal government has a variety of different channels and programs designed to attract some would-be immigrants, immigration experts say it’s important to understand that not everyone qualifies. “There are paths that can be taken, but not by everyone, and knowing how to navigate them requires planning,” said lawyer Henry Chang, a Toronto-based partner in the Employment and Labor group at Dentons who specializes in Canada-U.S. business . immigration. “In Canada, certain skills and qualities are prioritized over others. As a result, not everyone will be able to qualify for permanent residence in Canada.” There are three main categories for those interested in immigrating to Canada permanently, and all have strict criteria. Applicants for the Federal Skilled Worker program must meet minimum standards for work experience, language skills, and education level before being scored on several factors. A passing score — 67 out of 100 — adds candidates to the applicant pool known as Express Entry, where they are evaluated a second time. the highest among them are invited to apply for permanent residence. Prospective immigrants with at least one year of recent work experience in Canada under a valid work permit may qualify for the Canadian Experience Category and be added to the Express Entry pool on that basis. The Federal Skilled Trades program is for people with at least two years of recent work experience in a variety of industries, from industrial work and construction to chefs, butchers and bakers. Most experts agree that the best strategy for those seeking permanent residency is the long-term. For example, they can seek a study permit to obtain a degree in Canada, which may lead to a work permit, which would make the Experience Class an option at a later date. In Canada, where abortion is decriminalized, the federal Liberal government has pledged to defend a woman’s right to choose, although it has offered little in the way of specifics. “This decision does not only affect Americans, and Canada is not immune to the potential impact,” said Cid Cabillan, immigration minister Sean Fraser’s chief of staff. “Canada is in regular contact with the U.S. government on issues related to our shared border and immigration. We will continue to work with our U.S. counterparts while ensuring that we remain fair and compassionate regarding immigration between of our two countries.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 17, 2022.
