Canada has granted thousands of new citizenship certificates since late last year, although half of them were for Americans.
This follows An Act to amend the Citizenship Act, which came into effect on December 15, 2025. This made it far easier for certain individuals to receive Canadian citizenship, who are often referred to as “Lost Canadians.”
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The Citizenship Act
Canadian citizenship currently previously had a first-generation limit. This meant that someone was not be able to automatically become a Canadian citizen if:
- they were born outside Canada, and
- their parent was also born outside Canada to a Canadian parent or adopted outside Canada by a Canadian parent.
- The grandparent was Canadian.
With Bill C-3 now introduced, a Canadian parent that was born or adopted abroad will be able to pass their Canadian citizenship onto their child that was born or adopted abroad, as well. This is provided that they have significant ties to Canada.
“Lost Canadians” are individuals who would have otherwise been citizens if not for the first-generation limit or other outdated provisions.
Bill C-3
It was in 2023 that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared that “key parts of the Citizenship Act relating to the first-generation limit to citizenship by descent were unconstitutional.” The ruling was not appealed, as the Government of Canada agreed with the decision.
“By updating the Citizenship Act to reflect the global mobility of modern Canadian families, the federal government has made access to citizenship more fair and reasonable,” said The Founder of the Lost Canadians, Don Chapman. “I applaud the efforts of all who supported Bill C-3, and the federal government for doing the right thing for Canadians who lost their citizenship because of an outdated law.”
Following the first three months during the initial change to the Citizenship Act, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued out proof of citizenship certificates to 4,075 people. According to the Canadian government, 1,955 of those approved applications came from people who were born in the U.S. This is more than double the amount of approved applications from people from Mexico, which totalled 900.
Applications continue to grow, with processing delays being expected from the increase.
Reportedly, the influx of Americans wanting to gain Canadian citizenship comes from a combination of motivations. This ranges from family heritage to identity, as well as concerns about living in the U.S.
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