Canada’s immigration website crashed Tuesday night, leading to speculation that it was caused by Americans who were distraught by the election of Republican Donald Trump.
As of Wednesday morning, there was no official comment from Canada’s citizenship and immigration officials.
But are that many Americans really thinking about leaving the country under a Trump presidency? Some wonder.
"It could just be an extraordinary coincidence," Prof Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey told the BBC.
There is some evidence, however that the crash could have been caused by worried Americans.
During the election primaries, the search term “how can I move to Canada” surged 350 percent after Trump swept the Super Tuesday Republican primaries, according to Google.
There was also a surge of interest in moving to Canada after former president George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004. It appears few Americans actually moved at the time.
Many American celebrities had said they would leave the country should Trump win. They include Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” fame; singers Cher, Barbara Streisand and Miley Cyrus; and comedians Amy Schumer, Jon Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg.
As with most stories today, the website’s crash took on a whole new life on social media.
