One of Sofi Papamarko's biggest concerns with her personal matchmaking website is the number of women she has to turn away.
The writer has been running Friend of a Friend Matchmaking for three years. She says it was difficult to maintain gender parity as not enough single men were signing up.
But then Donald Trump happened — or kept happening — and she saw an opportunity for a new matchmaking service.
Sofi Papamarko is a Toronto-based writer. (Photo: Sofi Papamarko)
"As Donald Trump began to gain a scary amount of steam and Americans were googling 'how to move to Canada,' I realized that I could remotely introduce American men and women looking to start a new life in Canada to my multitudes of single Canadian women," Papamarko told The Huffington Post Canada in an email.
The result is Canadian Girlfriend. The new service launched May 9 to match Americans who want to flee the U.S. over the prospect of a Trump presidency and who want more than a fling in the north.
Another service, Maple Match, also recently launched with a similar mission of connecting Trump dodgers with Canadians. The difference is that Papamarko's website is already running, while Maple Match has a waitlist.
For $50, Papamarko will connect a user with a cross-border match by email.
'Love without borders'
Papamarko, of course, can't guarantee registrants love. "But I can guarantee that I will try my best to match you with people that jibe with your interests," she writes on her website. "(You already both think Donald Trump is the worst, so that's a decent starting point, right?)"
Since launching the service, the matchmaker says most of the interest so far has come from women in Canada, as only Canadian media outlets have featured her site. But she says there's been some international interest, too, "like men from Denmark trying to sign up."
(Sorry, men from Denmark, this is an American-Canadian thing for now).
Papamarko says she hopes the website can continue after the U.S. election wraps up in November, regardless of whether President Trump becomes a reality or not.
"A lot of people who have been single for a while sometimes wonder if their 'person' even exists in their own city," she said.
"I don't believe in The One, but I think it can sometimes feel like you've dated every single eligible person within a city, and it doesn't hurt to expand your horizons and be open to meeting likeminded matches in other cities.
"Canadian Girlfriend is love without borders."
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