Canada's immigration website crashes as Trump leads polls

When the odds of Donald Trump becoming America's next president rose on Tuesday night, more citizens appeared to be looking for a way out.

Canada's main immigration site was down as a large number of visitors from the United States logged onto the site as Trump took a lead at the polls.

People trying to access the website were greeted by a long loading page or an error message, rather than the usual application information.

Officials for the Ministry of Immigration could not immediately be reached for comment, but the website's problems were noted by many on Twitter.

After some Americans, often jokingly said they would migrate to Canada if Trump won, the idea was taken seriously by some Canadian communities.

Recently, the island of Cape Breton on Canada's Atlantic coast marketed itself as a tranquil refuge for Americans seeking to escape should Trump capture the White House.