With so many people threatening to move to Canada if Donald Trump becomes president, it was just a matter of time before someone would come up with a plan to help all these potential expats. That’s where the dating site Maple Match comes in to save the day. Maple Match was specifically created to match Americans fleeing a Trump-run country with Canadians. No, this is not a joke, nor is their slogan, “Making dating great again.”
As the CEO of Maple Match, Joe Goldman, told Cosmopolitan, the only joke in this equation is Donald Trump, adding, “Finding true love in a place where you can be happy is not a joke.” The man does have a point. The site promises to match Americans to their perfect Canadian counterpart so as to “save them from the unfathomable horror of a Trump presidency.” Not only is the site very real, but it’s so in demand at the moment that there’s a waiting list. Yes; people all over the United States are on a damn waiting list in the hopes of procuring a Canadian of their dreams so they can make a run for the border if Trump does become president.
Before you jump in your car and start driving north in the hopes of finding yourself true love in Canada, here are six things to know about dating, love, and sex with Canadians. But first, check out the latest episode of Bustle's Sex and Relationships podcast, I Want It That Way:
1. Canadians Are Less Concerned With Marriage Than Americans
According to research by The Future of Children, Canadians aren’t as into marriage as Americans are. People of various countries were asked whether or not they felt that marriage is outdated. While 10 percent of Americans said it was, 22 percent of Canadians agreed. Basically, they know love doesn’t require a legal certificate.
2. If You Don’t Want To Divorce, Avoid Quebec
Although the divorce rates in the United States and Canada are pretty similar, Quebec has the highest divorce rate in Canada with 48.8 percent of first marriages ending in divorce. Newfoundland and Labrador, however, have the lowest rates of divorce in the country, at 21.6 percent, which is impressively low!
3. Canadians Wait Longer Than Americans To Get Married
While the average marrying age in the United States is 27 years old, Canadians hold out a little longer. For them, the average marrying age in Canada is 29.1. Looks like Canadians want to make sure it’s the real deal before they take the plunge.
4. Sex Education In Canada Is Far Superior Than It Is In The United States
The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and STD infections among all the developed countries in the world. While many school districts here fight for abstinence-only education, in Canada, things are different.
Sex ed may differ a bit from province to province, but overall the sex education in Canada is far more comprehensive than what we have in the States, in that it includes sexting, gender identity, consent, LGBTQ relationships, and masturbation. What this means for any American who dates a Canadian is that not only are they likely to know their way around the bedroom, but they’ll know how to do it safely, too.
5. Canadians Appear To Be More Romantic
We already know the stereotype that Canadians are so nice, but apparently they're romantics, too. While a 2015 report found that 54.9 percent of Americans planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day, that percentage was quite a bit higher in Canada. Up there, 81 percent of Canadians celebrate Valentine’s Day. And, if that weren't darling enough, for 44 percent of women and 45 percent of men, their ideal V-Day gift would simply be spending time together. Here in the States, where Valentine’s Day is a $19 billion business, things are a little bit different.
6. Canada Made Same-Sex Marriage Legal A Decade Before The United States
Need even more proof that Canada knows what’s up when it comes to love and relationships? While we were celebrating how the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in the States just last year, Canada had already been there and done that a decade before us. In 2005, Canada legalized same-sex marriage, making them the fourth country in the world to do so.
Even before that equal rights for the LGBT community had been set in motion as far back as the mid-1990s. And, while 55 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage as of a 2015 Pew Research poll, in Canada 70 percent of people support same-sex marriage.
So yeah, dating and falling in love with a Canadian is looking pretty awesome.
Images: Andrew Zaeh for Bustle; Giphy (6)
