Canada is set to restore the ability of citizens born abroad to pass their citizenship to children also born outside the country, following a court ruling that deemed the “first-generation limit” in the law unconstitutional. The federal government announced plans to amend the Citizenship Act, removing the “second-generation cut-off” implemented by the previous Conservative government, after an Ontario court declared the limit unconstitutional in December.
“We aim to minimize differential outcomes for children born abroad compared to those born to Canadians in Canada,” said Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Thursday. “While not everyone is entitled to citizenship, it must be fair for those who are.”
The former Conservative government under Stephen Harper had restricted citizenship by descent to a single generation in 2009, following backlash over the $85 million cost of evacuating 15,000 Canadian citizens from Lebanon during the 2006 war with Israel. Conservatives had labeled such dual nationals “Canadians of convenience.”
Since then, Canadian citizens born abroad have been unable to pass their citizenship to children born outside Canada, creating what some call a generation of “lost Canadians” and critics argue is a two-tiered citizenship system.
The new bill would allow Canadians born abroad to pass on citizenship if they demonstrate a substantial connection to Canada, shown by having spent at least three years in the country. This “substantial connection” clause aims to address concerns from anti-immigration critics who argue that some immigrants leave Canada after obtaining passports, only returning to claim benefits.
Jenny Kwan, an MP and immigration critic for the New Democratic Party, praised the bill, calling it a historic day for “lost Canadians” and their families. “This unjust law caused significant hardship, separating families and rendering children stateless. It failed to recognize that Canadians are global citizens who travel, study, work, fall in love, and have families abroad.”
Citizenship remains a contentious issue in Canada, a nation with high immigration rates. Conservative MP and shadow immigration minister Tom Kmiec criticized the current immigration system as “falling apart” and pledged that Conservatives would fix the system.
Don Chapman, who fought to regain his citizenship after being taken to the United States as a child, coined the term “lost Canadians” and advocates for citizenship rights for children of Canadians abroad. He noted that while the bill might not lead to a large influx of people moving to Canada, it would qualify many for Canadian citizenship.
American actors Gene Hackman, Shirley MacLaine, and Warren Beatty are among those who could become Canadian under the bill, according to Chapman. “Will they come? I don’t know. I doubt it. But they would have the right.”
