The rise of Donald Trump has given an unlikely boost to a Canadian island offering to take in Americans as political refugees if the Republican real estate mogul wins the White House, AFP reports.

Cape Breton Island, off the tip of the Nova Scotia peninsula on Canada's Atlantic coast, has put out a welcome mat for anyone unable to stomach a Trump presidency.

A local radio disc jockey hatched the idea, designing a website linked to the local tourist bureau to provide an escape for Canada's wary neighbors to the south.