“I’m Afraid of Living Here.”

The number of inquiries from LGBTQ+ Americans about moving to Canada has surged since Donald Trump’s re-election. Rights advocates say anxiety is spreading nationwide amid a surge of anti-gay rhetoric, executive actions targeting transgender people, and more than 600 bills aimed at curtailing LGBTQ+ rights.

"Too much is happening in the US right now, and much of it is frightening," says Latoya Nugent of Rainbow Railroad, a North American organization that helps LGBTQI+ people escape violence and persecution in their home countries.

In the first eight months of this year, the organization received 4,197 calls from US residents—a 760% increase compared with the same period last year. "The overwhelming majority of callers are seeking help with international relocation, which in effect means: ‘I want to leave the US because I am afraid to live here,’" Nugent notes.

Rainbow Railroad—an organization that typically fields about 12,000 requests annually from around the world—was inundated in November: in just one day after Trump’s re-election, it logged more than 1,100 calls. "For the first time in our history, the US became the number one country for requests for help," Nugent said.

And this trend is unlikely to subside. "Many of those reaching out say they fear for their future, given the political climate and the new laws and initiatives affecting LGBTQI+ people," she said.

Back in power, Trump launched an unprecedented campaign against the community: declaring that the US would recognize only two genders; rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion measures; signing executive orders excluding transgender people from the military, restricting their participation in sports, and banning gender-transition procedures for anyone under 19.

According to the US rights group GLAAD, in the first 100 days of his presidency, LGBTQ+ people were targeted at least 255 times—through both policy and rhetoric.

Local politicians have eagerly embraced this agenda. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, 604 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced at the state level this year. In Republican "red" states, initiatives targeting same-sex marriage are being pushed. In May, Utah became the first state in the country to ban the display of LGBTQ+ flags in government buildings and schools; within weeks, more than a dozen states adopted similar measures.

According to Latoya Nugent, about 61% of those reaching out to Rainbow Railroad from the US identify as transgender—a sign that they have become the primary target of the current administration’s policies.

Many applicants admitted they are watching developments with growing alarm. "If you are aware of global trends, you know this is only the beginning of something worse. In the US, transgender people have become the first line of attack against the entire LGBTQI+ community, and more and more people fear this will not stop here," she noted.

Even so, options for relocating to Canada remain extremely limited for those who feel persecuted in the US. Rainbow Railroad explains to applicants that, in most cases, relocation is only possible through economic programs or family reunification.

Two recent precedents have offered some hope. In July, a Canadian judge halted the deportation of a non-binary artist from Minnesota, noting that the decision had failed to consider the "current conditions for LGBTQ, non-binary, and transgender people" in the US. Since then, debate in Canada has intensified over whether this case will compel immigration authorities to take America’s present situation into account.

Another example is the case of a 22-year-old transgender woman from Arizona. After crossing the border earlier this year, Hannah Krieger filed for asylum in June, arguing that Trump’s policies toward transgender people left her in fear of persecution.

Her lawyer, Yamina Ansari, called the case potentially precedent-setting, as it could establish recognition that the Trump administration is deliberately persecuting the LGBTQ+ community in the US. "Normally we speak about people from East Africa, West Africa, from Russia or Islamic countries, but never about America," she noted. "With each passing day, I grow more convinced that her claim is valid."

A hearing could take place as early as next summer. Debate in Canada has centered on the requirement that refugees must prove they cannot obtain protection in their own country and that no safe regions exist within it. To defend her client, Ansari intends to argue that there is no US state where she could feel safe. "If she enters a federal building, will she be able to use the 'right' restroom? If she is detained in a federal facility, will she be held in a men’s prison? Will she receive gender-affirming care?" the lawyer asked.

From the outset, Krieger understood that her chances were slim. But according to her lawyer, she chose this path as her only opportunity to reach a safe space—not just for herself, but for others enduring relentless attacks from the Trump administration. "For her, this is not only a personal story. It is a fight for a common cause," Ansari emphasized.

Krieger’s story has already inspired many. "Her courage has motivated countless people. I have gained many more clients because they read about Hannah’s case and realized there is a lawyer who takes their pain seriously and sees it as so real that courts must acknowledge their fear," Ansari said.