Data: Google Trends; Chart: Axios Visuals
Google searches for “how to move to Canada from U.S.” surged on Friday following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, according to Google Trends data.
Why it matters: Abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy in Canada.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the news of the decision in the U.S. “horrific,” saying, “No government, politician or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body.”
- Search interest in moving to Canada had already spiked at the end of last month. The last time that search reached or surpassed that level was around the last presidential election, in the first week of November 2020.
By the numbers: The search “how to move to Canada from U.S.” spiked 850% in the hour after the Supreme Court decision was announced in the U.S., according to Simon Rogers’ Google Trends newsletter sent Friday evening.
- “How to become a Canadian citizen” spiked 550% in the same time frame.
- “Roe v. Wade” became the top trending topic on Google yesterday, with D.C. as the top subregion for Roe v. Wade searches.
- Massachusetts and Pennsylvania came in second and third.