trudeau and trump Getty

As the American government shutdown reaches its eighteenth day, it has been revealed a record number of Americans want to leave the US permanently – for Canada.

Ironically, as President Donald Trump sets his sights on building a wall to keep people out of America, more Americans than ever before would like to leave the Land of Liberty for a different New World of maple syrup and scenic vistas.

According to this new survey, a record 16 percent of Americans said they would like to permanently leave America for another country.

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The number of hopeful expats who said they would like to permanently move to another country – if they could – is higher under Donald Trump than the average during the administrations of his two predecessors.

Although 16 per cent is pretty average by global standards, according to Gallup, the comparison between Trump and the 44th and 43rd presidents is damning.

Under the Obama administration, 10 percent of Americans reported an urge to move away forever, compared to 11 percent during the George W. Bush administration.

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The poll asked:

Ideally, if you had the opportunity, would you like to move permanently to another country, or would you prefer to continue living in this country?

The poll did not ask participants for their political leanings, but Gallup report many of the 16 per cent who answered affirmatively come from members of groups which typically lean Democratic and disapprove of Trump.

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These groups are women, young Americans and people in lower-income groups, who have demonstrated a record high in desire to migrate from their home country.

Most poignantly, before the Trump years there was no difference between men and women’s desires to move – but the poll paints a different picture now.

During the first two years of the Trump administration, a record-high one in five American women said they would like to move to another country permanently if they could.

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This is twice the average for women during the Obama or Bush years – 10 and 11 per cent of women, respectively – and almost twice the level among men (13 per cent) under Trump.

A huge 30 per cent of Americans younger than 30 would like to move – and their numbers represent a new high in the desire to leave among this age group.

They also displayed the largest gender gap, as 40 percent of women younger than 30 said they would like to move, compared with 20 per cent of men in this age group.

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Women and men marching for equality Getty

You can read into that however you like. My guess is it has something to do with the American president himself bragging about the ‘grabbing’ of women ‘by the pussy’, but that’s just a theory.

Meanwhile, desire to migrate among the poorest fifth of American people is also at record levels during Trump’s first two years – more than twice as high as the average during Obama’s two terms, in fact.

So far under Trump, three in 10 of the poorest Americans say they would like to migrate if they could, compared with an average of 13 per cent under Obama.

So, to Canada? Well, perhaps! Many Americans – particularly Democrats – threatened to move to Canada after Trump’s election – just as Republicans did once Obama was elected.

However, in 2018, more than one in four Americans (26 per cent) who would like to move named Canada as the place they would like to go, up from 12 per cent in 2016.

In other words, after years of remaining flat, the number of Americans – particularly young women – who desire to leave the US of A permanently is on the rise.

And who’s fault is that? Well, partly Trump’s, apparently.

Gallup report the ‘Trump effect’ on Americans’ desire to migrate is a new manifestation of the increasing political polarisation in the country.

They conclude:

Before Trump took office, Americans’ approval or disapproval of the president was not a push factor in their desire to migrate.

Ouch.