In the run-up to Donald Trump’s presidential election win, many Americans declared (jokingly or not) that they would move to Canada to escape his rule. On the night of the election, Canada’s immigration website even crashed as a high volume of users with American IP addresses attempted to access the site.
But actually emigrating is not as simple as visiting a website before packing up the car for a quick jaunt to the Great White North.
John McCool of North Carolina moved to his husband’s native Montreal in 2014. In the 27 months since then, he’s been unable to work, study, or access Canada’s universal health care system as he awaits the immigration status paperwork.
“I was excited to come to Canada to start a new life with my husband in his homeland,” McCool told CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday.
McCool said he knew the visa process might take a while, but he had no idea it would be so time-consuming. McCool thought it might take only a year or so because he is married to a Canadian citizen. He said the processing time for visas has now increased from 12 to 14 months to 26 months according to Canada’s immigration website.
“Dealing with the Canadian immigration authorities has been frustrating to say the least,” McCool said. “The system is just overburdened and under-resourced.”
According to McCool, system errors have led to multiple delays in processing his application. He said he has had to provide FBI clearance paperwork to Canadian immigration officials several times because, by the time they looked at it, the documents have already expired. He said he’s heard similar stories from other immigrants frustrated by Canada’s system.
He said not being able to work, access health care or even obtain a library card has taken a toll on his life in Montreal.
“I can’t start my life and I can’t plan for the future with my husband,” McCool said. “It’s these day-to-day reminders that you’re just not part of a society that live in and that you want to be an active member of.”
When he heard about other Americans plotting to jump ship and move to Canada during the U.S. election, McCool said he was annoyed because he didn’t think they realized how difficult moving to another country can be, even one next door. McCool said that Americans seriously interested in living in Canada will have to be patient.
“Get in line. I’ve been waiting a long time,” McCool said with a laugh. “(They) should have applied to Canada years ago, like I did, if they really wished to emigrate.”
