Searches for ‘how to move to Canada’ have spiked 850% after Roe ruling

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, online searches for “how to move to Canada” have spiked over 850% on Google, according to Axios, who cited Simon Rogers’ Google Trends newsletter.

Axios also reported that, as of Friday evening, searches for “how to become a Canadian citizen” had risen by 550%.

The Supreme Court overturned the landmark ruling that legalized abortion nationwide in a 5-4 decision on Friday. Now, the legality of abortion will be left up to individual states to decide for themselves.

After hearing of the Supreme Court’s ruling, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the Supreme Court’s decision “horrific,” adding: “My heart goes out to the millions of American women who are now set to lose their legal right to an abortion. I can’t imagine the fear and anger you are feeling right now.”

After a draft of the ruling was leaked in May, Canada’s Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, ensured Americans that they would be able to obtain an abortion in Canada. “I don’t see why we would not,” she said at the time. “If they, people, come here and need access, certainly, you know, that’s a service that would be provided.”

Now, however, there are concerns that Americans seeking abortion in Canada could overwhelm clinics. “Even a small number of Americans can overwhelm our system,” Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, told CBC.

While abortion is legal in Canada, it is not considered a constitutionally protected right under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Because of this, abortion advocates are worried that the US ruling could spread north of the border.

“No country in the world, including Canada, is immune to what’s going on in the United States,” said Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.

“We’ve seen that the power of very small but vocal anti-choice and conservative groups can make a huge impact, and we just don’t know what the country’s going to look like in the future,” said Jill Doctoroff, executive director of National Abortion Federation Canada.