The first U.S. presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on Tuesday was many things. A demonstration of the value of muting microphones. An exercise in how many people could talk over each other at once. A “shit show,” according to CNN.
And, as several people pointed out on Twitter, it made a pretty good case for, well, not being in the U.S.
Tuesday’s debate had a lot of Americans wanting to make way for the northern border, or at the very least tweeting about it.
Google search results for “move to Canada” spiked in the hours following the debate, as many Americans contemplated abandoning their country for the true north strong and free.
But many Canadians and Americans alike were quick to point out that Canada might not want anything to do with the U.S. after that debate, and nonessential travel across the border remains restricted amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tuesday’s debate may have brought to mind last year’s Canadian federal election contest which saw, generally, politicians sticking to their allotted time frames and not refusing to denounce white supremacy.
This time last year, Canadian Green Party leader Elizabeth May shook hands with an empty podium because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t attend the first debate.
A bit of a contrast, to say the least.
It’s also, of course, hardly the first time Americans have looked north of the 49th parallel in the wake of political upheaval. On the evening of the last U.S. election in 2016, Canada’s immigration site straight up crashed. There was a similar trend after Obama got elected for a second term.
Still, Canadians were quick to point out that our country has its own problems.
Americans, hang tight, okay? It looks like that border’s going to be closed for at least a while longer.