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Google searches for ‘move to Canada’ skyrocket after 'chaotic and vicious' Trump-Biden presidential debate

The highly-anticipated and equally contentious debate also caused frustrated Americans to search 'how to apply for Canadian citizenship'

Google searches for "move to Canada" saw a major uptick following the first debate between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden. The highly-anticipated evening, which saw Biden hurl several insults at the POTUS and Trump frequently interrupt the former vice president, also caused frustrated Americans to search "how to apply for Canadian citizenship," The Sun reported.

Meanwhile, Google Trends also painted a clear picture of the zeitgeist in the country as Trump and Biden locked horns over several issues at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. The "How to apply for Canadian citizenship" inquiry reportedly peaked at around 10:30 pm, during the last leg of the fiery debate. The query later surged once again at around 4 am Wednesday morning, per the paper. Massachusetts saw the most inquiries on how to obtain Canadian citizenship, followed by Washington state, Michigan, and Illinois. 

That said, "Move to Canada" and "how to move to Canada" were also popular search terms during the debate. The top four states with the most searches for "Move to Canada" were Oregon, Vermont, Colorado, and Wyoming. What's more? "Relocation" was also a popular term in inquiries from the District of Columbia, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, and Alaska.

The raucous debate was moderated by news anchor Chris Wallace, who was later criticized for "losing control" of the candidates as well as shielding the former VP from the president's relentless attacks. Several users took to social media to voice what they felt about the debate, which was dubbed “a chaotic and vicious show" by Spanish newspaper El Pais.

"I’m really glad that Europe slept through that last night. Let’s just keep this whole thing quiet, ok. Looking at you, Canada," one user tweeted Wednesday morning.

"This is a 90 minute commercial for Canada," another added.

"Apparently the real winner of tonight's debate was 'F*ck this, we're moving to Canada,'" author Steve Silberman tweeted.

"Oh, f*ck off not a single American leftie is actually gonna follow through on their moving to Canada bullsh*t this time either," another user chimed in.

“The spiteful presidential debate portrayed a country that is no longer capable even of a dignified dispute," journalist Meret Baumann wrote in Swiss paper Neue Zuercher Zeitung, while CNN's Dana Bash denounced the debate as "a s**tshow."

"We’re on cable. We can say it. Apologies for being crude," Bash said while speaking on a panel Tuesday night. "But that is really the phrase I’m getting from people on both sides of the aisle on text and the only phrase I can think of to describe it.”

But while people may wonder if moving to Canada is an option, travel restrictions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic are still in place. "The United States and Canada have a mutual agreement to restrict non-essential travel across our shared border," per directives from the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Canada. "The current agreement runs through October 21. For more information, see our fact sheet."

That said, this is hardly the first time Americans have pondered moving north due to political upheaval. Canada's immigration website crashed on the evening of the 2016 election following Trump's victory. A similar trend was observed after Obama won a second term in the White House.