Cape Breton’s ‘Trump Bump’ still reverberating across the island
HALIFAX — At first, the story of the cheeky Canadian website that encouraged Americans to move to Cape Breton to avoid the possibility of a Donald Trump presidency seemed like a typical viral craze that would quickly flame out and fade away.
Now, almost nine months later, the man who created the online sensation says that on the eve of one of the most anticipated elections in U.S. history, the “Cape Breton if Donald Trump Wins” website is still generating debate, discussion and genuine inquiries from Americans curious about moving to Nova Scotia’s rugged northern island.
Rob Calabrese, a radio announcer in Sydney, N.S., who describes himself as a political nerd, said the website has generated more than two million visits and about 6,000 contacts, including the following inquiry Friday from Massachusetts: “We’re interested in buying a house or vacation place near the coast in Cape Breton. Can you recommend an area? … Looks like a beautiful place, with or without Trump.”
And in recent months, a growing number of questions and comments have been coming from farther afield: Africa, Central America, the Netherlands and Germany, to name a few.