“We are moving!”—a popular sentiment among many progressive and Democratic-leaning individuals in 2016 used to illustrate their feelings about the election of now former President Donald Trump. The political divisions in our country had many of our cherished artists and entertainers looking to our northern neighbor, assuming relocation to Canada would be an easy option. And to an extent, they would have been correct if they chose to follow through on their threats.

No stranger to the role immigration plays in a globalizing economy, Canada launched its flagship Express Entry program in 2015 in an effort to target and retain talent already in Canada and attract new skilled professionals from abroad. The program, which is a purely economic point and merit-based framework, has proven extremely popular among nations that traditionally have been infatuated with the American dream.