Hundreds of Americans accept B.C. man's social media invite to visit Canada [View all]

[Spazito]

Months after a British Columbia man's social media invite to Americans went viral, hundreds showed up in Nanaimo, B.C., over the weekend to show their support for Canada.

Tod Maffin floated the idea to Americans in February, posting a video to TikTok in which he encouraged them to visit his hometown of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island — and thousands of people responded with interest.

His goal, Maffin said, was to create a bridge between the two countries at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to make Canada the 51st state, and the ongoing tariff war, had spiked political tensions.

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The festival drew attendees from U.S. states close to B.C. like Washington and Oregon — but some attendees came from as far away as North Carolina and central Texas.

Partners Rachael Smith-Taylor and Lisa Owens, both nurses from Belton, Texas, said the visit to Nanaimo came as they figure out the next stage of their lives, given the concern for 2SLGBTQ+ rights in America under Trump.

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nanaimo-infusion-tod-maffin-1.7519638