First thing once my wife and I have our passports renewed: A weekend in Canada.

[Aristus]

Get out of this madhouse of a country for at least a little while.

I'm not expecting that the Canadians will be their usual friendly, welcoming selves this time out. And what the border goons are going to do when we return to the madhouse, who knows?

We're working on a plan to leave for good. Executing it is a different kettle of fish...

[applegrove]

1. Have fun. Where are you going in Canada?

[Aristus]

3. Lovely, liberal Victoria, B.C.

We've been weekending there intermittently for over twenty years. We used to have seasons tickets to Pacific Opera, too.

[applegrove]

4. Nice. They had no snow there this winter, the first time

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in 43 years. (I mean Vancouver)

[OMGWTF]

17. Do not miss the Butchart Gardens -- https://butchartgardens.com/

[applegrove]

26. I loved the Quarry Garden there. Beautiful.

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[SeattleVet]

18. Love Victoria! We usually take the Clipper from downtown Seattle.

Lots of great restaurants, museums, and shops. We always try to find a new off-the-neaten path place when we go. Last time we hit a great sushi place - "Uni". (And they had fresh uni directly from Japan that day!)

10 Acres Commons near the Inner Harbor has a great happy hour with amazing oysters. They're on Humboldt Street just across from the Fairmont Princess. Last time we were there I think I had 4 or 5 dozen.

With the exchange rate the way it is prices are very good for us!

Enjoy.

[nilram]

29. I quite recommend The Bug Zoo. Have you been?

https://www.victoriabugzoo.ca/

Among other things, they have an ant farm that stretches from one side of the room to the other.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. I recommend Vancouver and St. Edward's Island.

[applegrove]

5. Prince Edward Island. Don't you remember John Candy's

character from Second City TV: Magnum P.E.I.?

[montanacowboy]

6. We take our 4th of July

trip to BC every year, we need to get away from the madness of fireworks
This year it's Harrison Hot Springs - got a great B & B with fenced yard for the pups
How I wish we could just stay but unfortunately they don't want us

[applegrove]

7. Do your genealogy and find out if you have any Canadian ancestors

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who moved to the US at any time. Doesn't matter how far back. You only need one to get Canadian citizenship.

[Cadfael]

13. For real?

My mom’s dad was born in Minnesota, but all of his family on both sides before that were in Canada since the late 1600’s.
Ancestry even has French Canadian one of my DNA origins……

[applegrove]

16. So cool they know French Canadian DNA. Here is an article on Bill C 3:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bill-c-3-canadian-citizenship-by-descent-american-interest-9.7112724

[OMGWTF]

15. My grandmother was born in Kansas but sent to live in Alberta when she was very young after her mother died.

She became a Canadian citizen while living with the family. I wonder if that counts as I would love to have an avenue out of this madhouse shithole country.

[applegrove]

19. You're in!!!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bill-c-3-canadian-citizenship-by-descent-american-interest-9.7112724

[LeftInTX]

22. Spain did that with Jewish ancestry as reparations for the Inquisition and quickly dissolved the program

Almost everyone of Mexican descent is about 5% Jewish. Ditto for many other Latin American countries. By the time I knew hubby was eligible for the program, it was gone. I don't think Spain wanted to increase their population by 150 million!

Well, it looks like Portugal may have a program. Hubby is a direct descendent of Luis Carvajal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_de_Carvajal_y_de_la_Cueva

[applegrove]

25. I was so jealous of people who had EU citizenship back in another life.

[nilram]

30. My sister and I rendesvoued in Vancouver to get away from the fourth once...

We arrived on the 150th Canada Day, so rather a big deal. It was as crazy or crazier than here.

[Fiendish Thingy]

8. Here's an event you might be interested in:

Weekend of April 24-26 in my adopted hometown of Nanaimo.

https://engageq.notion.site/infusion-2026

Last year’s was so good it made the national news!

You will be welcomed with open arms and warm hearts!

(Nanaimo is just two hours north of Victoria)

[niyad]

11. That looks like a great deal of fun!

[erronis]

20. Nanaimo is a wonderful town on a wonderful island in a wonderful country.

Guess I'm a bit prejudiced.

Have you read "A Curve in Time"? It was my introduction to the inland waterways.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curve_of_Time

My first time there I stumbled upon a concert at the fairgrounds featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo - one of my favorite groups.

[Tree Lady]

24. We took the ferry to Nanaimo

Few years ago from southern Vancouver to drive to Tofino. We had a great time. Did Canada vacations 3 years in a row. This year Oregon coast and week in Hawaii with daughter.

[Spazito]

9. I would hope you will find the normal welcoming, friendly response...

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Canadians, the vast majority anyway, understand who is to blame for the deteriorating relationship between us and it is not the majority of Americans and we also know no MAGAt would show their face here (except maybe in Alberta).

I love the Island and hope you have a wonderful, stress visit.

Edited to add: Oops, it should read stress-free, sorry about that.

[LisaM]

10. They will be totally nice. I was in Montreal in September.

Not only was everyone excessively nice to us, they were generally happy. It was almost culture shock to be somewhere where there wasn't a sense of impending doom everywhere you went.

[niyad]

12. I truly hope you can get away soon. And that leaving for good happens

soon, and easily, wherever you want to go.

[OMGWTF]

14. Canada is a great place to be. In my next life I'm going to be Canadian.

I'm on a mission to visit all ten Provinces and have been to four. Going to Manitoba and Saskatchewan in August and will finish off with the Maritimes next summer. The Canadians are great people. Our condo complex in Palm Springs, CA is usually about 75% Canadian in the winter. They are still coming, but not as many. They hate T💩p like all normal people, but they don't hate Americans. Yet.

[sdfernando]

21. My partner and I just got out to Spain.

Valencia to be exact. 1 year visa that we will renew for 2 years, the. 2 again, then residency. It's been almost year in the making. A lot of $$$....and a lot of waiting and anxiety ....so glad we got out and before the ICE gestapo at the airports! So far have not been able to convince other family & friends to leave. It seems like 1939 Germany and we got out just in time. Hope you guys can make it!

[Tree Lady]

23. Last time we went to Canada

Few years ago, also Vancouver Island but Tofino, very cool place. I wore my Kamala tshirt and a group of young Canadians told me they hoped she would win.

Wear a liberal shirt or hat, they are great, they understand the crazies have overtaken the house.

[KT2000]

27. Taking the Coho Ferry?

They have some really good deals: https://cohoferry.com/packages/overnight

The Black Ball Ferry is owned by three men who were employees. They work very hard to keep it going considering everything rump has done to destroy relations between the US and Canada. Canadians know the difference between us as people and our horrid government.

As I hear it, doctors and nurses have had their work permit processes reduced to weeks. They want our healthcare workers.

[Brenda]

28. Oh, they'll be nice.

Have a good time and I hope your plan comes together.

We'd like to leave for good but it comes down to 2 things:

Where exactly is safe from climate chaos and

We're not wealthy enough or want to leave retirement to work again in the places we would like to go.

If you can afford it Aristus - do it!

[viva la]

31. Where are you going?

[mnhtnbb]

32. OMG! I had not heard about the new law in Canada.

I have the research to show the descent on my father's side, not only from Canada, but also from the pond crossing (England) prior to arrival in Canada. I have a nephew who tracked the family genealogy and sent it all to me in 2016. No coincidence, that date! The nephew, his wife and daughter, relocated to England in December last year.

I have sent the family history on to both my sons and they are both interested now in pursuing this. I've been gently suggesting they should try to get out since November 2024 and until now they didn't seem interested. The citizenship via descent does shine a whole new light on things, especially since my nephew has already done a lot of the work. They just have to collect birth/death certificates back to my grandfather, I believe.

Thanks for this thread! BTW, I loved Victoria, BC when I was there in 2016! I hope you get to visit there soon, and work out your own escape plan.