Apparently that flood of political refugees who vowed to flee to Canada last year after the re—election of George Bush has never materialized.  Consider the following damning good news headline from our highly taxed neighbor to the north:

November jobless rate falls to 6.4 per cent, lowest level in 31 years

Could this be a partial explanation for the no flow emigration there?

Consider the contrasts:  a 6.4% unemployment rate is considered good in Canada; in the US such figures over three decades would be cause for alarm; Bush would be condemned even more by you—know—who; the you—know—who crowd would have even more ammunition for their bring 'em home from Iraq now attitude, use the money for the jobless caused by Bush's cruel policies.

But in Canada:

"This was just a stunningly strong report," especially following 68,700 new jobs added in October, said Marc Levesque, chief Canadian strategist with TD Securities.

"It doesn't matter which way you dissect the data, the job numbers. . .were extremely strong."

Why, a mere 6.4% unemployment rate might even help the re—election of the present Prime Minister. Oh, by the way, what did the present Prime Minister do to achieve such stunning results?  Ah, buried at the bottom of the article is the reason:

A healthy jobs report south of the border Friday added to encouraging signs for Canadian economic growth, as American payrolls grew by 215,000 last month to hold the U.S. jobless rate steady at five per cent.

Continued health in the U.S. economy is vital to Canada's prospects since its voracious appetite keeps this country's export sector buzzing.

Concerns hover over the outlook for the massive U.S. economy, where consumer confidence has been shaken by high energy prices and the damage from autumn hurricanes, said Levesque.

Ethel C. Fenig   12 02 05