They’re coming from Big Law, the Ivy League, arts institutes and beyond, brimming with smarts and energy and united by a common cause: avoiding the carnage of Donald Trump. True tales from the brain gain
The exodus began long before the unprecedented cuts and crackdowns of the past few months. Some people made travel plans as far back as 2015, when Trump first became the Republican nominee. Others started packing the moment he won his first term. But most of the departures were set in motion more recently, as Trump began laying waste to key American institutions.
Trump’s first 100 days in office have been defined by an obsession with all that allegedly flows into the US across international borders (migrants, fentanyl, under-taxed goods). The president is markedly less concerned about what, and who, is exiting his country.
The scientific journal Nature recently published a survey in which more than 1,200 of 1,608 scientists polled—75 per cent of respondents—said they were considering leaving the US. According to physician recruiters across Canada, hundreds of American doctors, roughly double the number at this time last year, have reached out to explore relocation. And sweeping changes to how universities, museums and anything even tangentially related to DEI are funded are making crossing the border more and more appealing to academics and cultural workers.
Current and future leaders in science, medicine, academia, law, tech and the arts are choosing Toronto as their destination, drawn to its stability, diversity and freedom of discourse. For many of these expats, our city is a perfect perch from which to combat the spread of fascism. What they all share is a deep desire to work in a country that values their contributions. We’re lucky to have them.
Ezrin has worked with the likes of Pink Floyd, Kiss and Alice Cooper. Here, he discusses how the US has deteriorated in the wake of Donald Trump’s second ascent to the White House
The emergency preparedness expert talks gutting FEMA, the growing disregard for democratic norms and what we need most in these uncertain times
Aspuru-Guzik and his multinational team of mad scientists are combining chemistry, robotics and AI to fight climate change, streamline organ transplants and supercharge the scientific method. How did their lab end up at the University of Toronto? In a word: Trump
For 24 years, Jennifer Wild worked at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Here, she explains her decision to leave
The author of How Fascism Works talks Trump’s working-class appeal, how to keep Canada from following in America’s footsteps and why Toronto is the best place to be right now
A professor of media studies, Robert W. Gehl is an expert on open-source alternatives to American behemoths like X and Meta. Here, he shares his motivations for relocating to Toronto
David Rudolph and Sonya Pfeiffer, civil rights and criminal defence lawyers (the former of The Staircase fame), discuss deepening political divides, inane governors and their new life up north
Growing up in a low-income neighbourhood in LA, Flores experienced institutional racism and systemic injustice first-hand. Eight months after Trump was elected, he and his family headed north
The computational arts educator shares the personal and professional hurdles that made riding out a second Trump presidency untenable
The hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeon talks Canadian versus American health care, U of T’s world-class surgery department and the moment he knew he had to get out of Minnesota
Now a professor of computer science at U of T and associate research director at the Vector Institute, Raffel discusses the importance of diversity, the grim prospect of raising kids in Trump’s America and Toronto’s role as an AI hub
“I’m a six-foot-one Black gay man,” says the TSO’s CEO. “I have to be very mindful about putting myself in situations where I will have a fair shake”
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