Fact Check

Small Canadian Town Will Give You a Job and Land to Relocate

A small business in Canada is offering a job and land to those willing to relocate to Nova Scotia, but only to those who are legally allowed to work in Canada.

Published Sept. 21, 2016

 (Facebook)
Image Via Facebook
Claim:
A small business in Canada is offering jobs and free land to Americans looking to relocate in the event of a Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton presidency.
What's True

A small Canadian business is offering jobs and land to people willing to relocate to Nova Scotia.

What's False

The offer is not geared toward politically upset Americans and only applies to individuals who are legally able to work in Canada.

A common trope in U.S. election years is Americans' declaring they will move to Canada if a candidate they highly disfavor should win the presidency. Google searches for "move to Canada" spiked on Super Tuesday in March 2016, and a false news story claiming that President Obama would move to Canada if Donald Trump was elected circulated widely.

So it wasn't surprising to see Americans get excited when a Canadian business posted an interesting offer to those willing to relocate to that country. On 28 August 2016, the Farmer's Daughter Country Market posted an announcement on Facebook advertising they were offering jobs and two acres of woodland to people willing to move to (and work in) Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia:

We are an established business in the heart of Cape Breton, rich in jobs, land, and potential, but no people.

Are you someone who is looking to live a simpler life, close to nature, in an area that still believes in community meals and weekly jam sessions? We can't give you big money, but we can give you an awesome life.

Our business is busy from May to December, with slower months January to April, so you can enjoy our amazing winters. We have lots of good ideas and we want to continue to build on our accomplishments but we don't have enough hands to help.

We cannot offer you big money (wages in local small Cape Breton businesses are not high) but we can offer you a great incentive to come and try us out. One thing our business does have is LOTS of LAND. If you decide this opportunity might fit your dreams and goals for a close to nature and community focused life, then we are willing to offer you 2 acres of woodland where you can immediately set up your tiny house or quaint cabin. Plus give you access to our farmland and other resources we have available. If you are still working with us after five years and we all still like each other after that time, then the land is yours for the cost of migrating it out and putting it in your name.

The Farmer's Daughter Country Market offer made no appeal to Americans seeking to relocate due to election results, and they noted that their opportunity was only available to those holding Canadian residency or citizenship status:

Please note if you are a foreign worker you cannot apply. At this time Cape Breton does not qualify for the Foreign Worker Program.

While several news outlets, such as CNBC, also stated that this offer was only available to those already legally allowed to work in Canada, many readers were misled by headlines such as "Small Canadian Town Will Give You a Job and Land to Relocate" and mistakenly believed that the offer was open to all politically despondent Americans.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.