A question from an ignorant Canadian.

[Locut0s]

So I like to keep up with global news and politics and as I have posted several times Trump's win has been terrifying for me even though I'm Canadian. I understand the basics of the electoral college system in the US but not any of the details. I know there has been talk on here of the electoral college representatives voting for Hilary instead of Trump. I'm assuming there is no precedent for this though? Is there any real mechanism in place to handle what would follow? Because what I fear might follow would be civil war.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

1. Yes, there is a mechanism in place

It would be a futile effort, for show only, yet lots of people are still calling for it to happen.

[Locut0s]

2. What is said mechanism? And why would it be futile? Nt.

[RKP5637]

3. Here is some information on it ...

http://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/could-electoral-college-elect-clinton/

[Locut0s]

7. Thank you that was very informative. Kind of sad that...

Kind of sad that for the sake of a smooth transition and out of fear of damaging your faith in your democracy you will instead be heavily damaging your democracy by handing the presidency to Trump. But then again as I said above perhaps the other outcome might be some kind of civil war outcome.

These are dark fucking times.

[RKP5637]

8. They certainly are dark times. This jerk Trump is going to damage relations with good

friends, Canada and Mexico, and the rest of the world. Frankly, I am frightened not only by Trump, but especially by the cast of horror figures he is assembling to assist him. It's hard to tell what is going to happen, but my bet is it will not be good for any of us.

[Locut0s]

9. Indeed I've had the very same thought...

Every presidency of course is comprised of a huge cast of people. The president himself may have a huge amount of power, I'd argue too much in the US system, but ultimately it's his cabinet and various other appointees that do the heavy lifting and actually get the most done at the end of the day. Like with the Bush presidency some of the darkest figures those that will do the most damage won't be the president himself. In fact I suspect that like with Bush Trump himself might end up being something of a comical buffoon character. Bush was a mental midget but trillions of dollars in damage and hundreds of thousands of deaths lie at the feet of the likes of Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and that whole cavalcade. The picture that is emerging around Trump is sadly even more scary. In Bannon alone you basically have a fascist white supremacist. And with Trump's security pics it's clear he means his SHARP ultra right anti immigrant hard line turn. It's not going to be fun to see how much damage this group is going to cause.

[still_one]

4. As an ignorant American, Is moving to Canada pretty difficult unless you have a

Last edited Mon Nov 21, 2016, 12:14 AM - Edit history (1)

company sponsor?

[rurallib]

5. many of us are really curious.

[JudyM]

11. tRump is turning 'mericans into political refugees.

[Locut0s]

6. I wish I had the relevant info. I know that it used to be a bit easier...

I understand that we have tightened up some immigration policies regarding US immigration of late. But I don't know the specifics. I persoanlly would gladly welcome my liberal American brothers

[still_one]

10. Thanks

[athena]

13. It's extremely difficult.

Then again, it's extremely difficult for a Canadian to move to the U.S., as well. It is politically extremely popular in the U.S. to keep out all those evil foreigners who are trying to immigrate to the U.S. and take away Americans' jobs. But the moment anything bad happens in the U.S., Americans immediately start talking about how they're all moving to Canada, as if it could be that easy to move to a country whose citizens you have been rejecting for decades, and to start taking advantage of a social safety net you have paid nothing into.

[still_one]

15. That is one of the reasons I poised the question. However, during the Viet Nam War

Canada had a very tolerant policy to those trying to avoid the draft, so it would depend on the circumstances.

One thing that is glossed over is that Canada is not an inexpensive place.

If someone has a skilled profession, a relative who can sponsor them, or is an entrepreneur, they shouldn't have any issues.

If you can also demonstrate that you would not be dependent on government services, including their healthcare system, in other words have independent means, and can buy private health insurance, it also should not be a problem.

That is why when these threads pop up that people are moving to Canada, I don't think they understand what is involved, or the costs.

That is why celebrities can freely say it, because they can if they wanted to

[PotatoChip]

17. I miss all of my Canadian neighbors; most of whom have moved back to Canada.

Their exodus out of Maine began after NAFTA, but really accelerated from about 2000 on. And many of them had been here for generations.

They were always a pretty reliable D voting block, which I think is partially why Maine's 2nd Congressional District has been steadily becoming more purple (now red).

Like Nebraska, Maine splits electoral votes in Presidential elections, but it had never happened before... Well, not until this year. Trump won just 1 Electoral Vote, but it was still painful to see an R win a formerly D district. I knew it was going to happen as soon as it became clear that Hillary was going to be our nominee, but the fact that it came as no surprise didn't make it any less tough to swallow.

[Nay]

14. Here's the skinny on immigrating to Canada.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/

In my case, I was able to get Canadian citizenship through my mother, who was a natural-born Canadian. Those of you out there who have Canadian mothers can look in this site for the relevant info for you. Otherwise, this site will give you the general info for regular immigration. It has been tightened up a lot, and it never has been easy; seems like your best bet is to be a workers whose occupation is at the top of the list of needed occupations.

[treestar]

12. If that is what it takes to

Get rid of the electoral college it is not a problem. A system that allows the loser to take office is untenable.

[still_one]

16. You are of course right treestar, but I don't see that happening anytime soon