Immigration Minister Marc Miller has tabled legislation that would extend citizenship to some children born outside of Canada.
“The proposed legislation will extend citizenship by descent beyond the first generation in a way that is inclusive and upholds the value of our citizenship,” he said during a press conference on May 23.
Bill C-71, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act, would allow a Canadian parent born abroad to pass on citizenship to their child born abroad as long as the parents can prove a “substantial connection to Canada.” To demonstrate a substantial connection to Canada, a Canadian parent who was born abroad would need to have a cumulative 1,095 days of physical presence in Canada before the birth or adoption of the child.
In 2009, the Citizenship Act was amended by then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper so that Canadian parents born abroad could not pass down their citizenship unless their child was born in Canada. The new bill looks to undo that change and would automatically confer citizenship rights to children born since 2009 who were affected by the changes to the act under the previous government.
In December 2023, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that a portion of Canada’s Citizenship Act was unconstitutional, saying that the “second-generation cut-off rule” was a violation of charter rights because it denies automatic citizenship to children born abroad if their Canadian parents were also born overseas.
“The latter group holds a lesser class of citizenship because, unlike Canadian-born citizens, they are unable to pass on Canadian citizenship by descent to their children born abroad,” ruled Justice Jasmine Akbarali.
Following that ruling, the Liberal government said it would not appeal the judge’s ruling.
“This law, as it currently stands, has had unacceptable consequences for Canadians whose children were born outside the country. For this reason, we will not appeal the ruling,” said Mr. Miller.
The Conservative Party has not commented on how they would vote on the legislation.
The legislation is part of a broader trend of the Liberal government extending the benefits of Canadian citizenship to wider categories of people. Canada’s population has surged in recent years due to immigration, with Statistics Canada estimating in March the country’s population surpassed 41 million, less than a year after it hit 40 million.
On May 17, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there needed to be a path to citizenship for undocumented Canadian immigrants, while in other cases deportation proceedings needed to be accelerated. The same day, Mr. Miller’s office said he planned to table a proposal on paths to citizenship and deportations to his fellow cabinet ministers before Parliament rises for its summer break next month.
The Canadian Armed Forces, which faces recruitment and retention issues, has also opened up applications to non-citizens in recent years. Between Nov. 1, 2022, and Nov. 24, 2023, the CAF received 21,472 applications from permanent residents.
