Year in review and look ahead

2025/12/23 Leave a comment

Time for my looking back piece, even if a bit self-indulgent.

Most of my time was spent on an analysis of the 2025 election results from a diversity analysis with Jerome Black, highlighting how representation of visible minorities had increased while that of women and Indigenous had stalled. A second area of major work was following and participating in C-3 citizenship discussions and debates. Annual updates on public service diversity and birth tourism, and setting the baseline for appointments that will be made by PM Carney.

2026 will continue with my various annual updates. Jerome Black and I have an analysis in train on the intersectionality of women and visible minority candidate in competitive ridings. I will be analysing the impact of C-3 in relation to age, gender, and country of origin and comparing that with expatriate voting data, given that the latter has grown significantly and the number of expatriate votes cast exceeds the winning margin in a number of ridings. No doubt other issues of interest will emerge.

Lots to keep me busy and engaged, along with maintaining my blog.

Best wishes for the holidays, whichever ones you celebrate.

Print below by my late father.

Citizenship 

Citations

Immigration – Citations

Multiculturalism 

Diversity and Employment Equity

Before the cuts: a bureaucracy baseline from an employment equity lens (Hill Times)

Political Representation 

The diversity of candidates and MPs stalled for some groups in this election (Policy Options, The Hill Times, with Jerome H. Black)

Citations

Filed under C-3, Citizenship, Immigration, Multiculturalism

Are you a Canadian by descent? New citizenship rules are in effect for ‘Lost Canadians’

2025/12/19 Leave a comment

Good plain language explanation:

…How do officials count generations in applying the new rule?

According to the Immigration Department, the first generation is defined as the first person born or adopted outside Canada to a Canadian citizen.

Whether a Canadian parent was born in Canada or is a naturalized citizen, their children born abroad are counted as first generation and considered Canadian by descent. The children born outside Canada to a first-generation person are now Canadian provided their first-generation parents meet the three-year physical residency requirement before their births.

This is also how officials count generations for people who are adopted and apply for a direct grant of citizenship.

What if you were born or adopted on or after Dec. 15, 2025?

People born outside Canada in the second generation or later may be Canadian if their parent was also born or adopted outside Canada to a citizen and that same parent spent at least three years in Canada before the birth. 

Adopted people are likely eligible to apply directly for Canadian citizenship if they were born and adopted outside Canada in the second generation or later, and if that same parent meets the residency requirement before the adoption. 

How about those who were born or adopted before the new law?

In most cases they are automatically a Canadian citizen if they were born before Dec. 15, 2025, outside Canada to a Canadian parent. The new rule also applies to those who were born to someone who became Canadian by descent because of the rule changes.

Adopted people should be eligible to apply directly for citizenship if they were born and adopted outside Canada in the second generation or later before that date.

What if you have a pending citizenship application under an interim measure?

In December 2023, after the court ruled the two-generation citizenship cut-off rule unconstitutional, Ottawa put in a temporary initiative to offer discretionary grant of citizenship by descent to certain affected groups while it worked on new legislation to make the citizenship law Charter-compliant. It resulted in more than 4,200 applications.

Any pending application under this measure will be processed under the new rules, and no new citizenship certificate application is required.

How do you prove your Canadian citizenship?

Those who believe they are eligible for citizenship by descent under the new rules should apply for a citizenship certificate as proof of citizenship if they became a citizen automatically. They will be assessed accordingly.

Source: Are you a Canadian by descent? New citizenship rules are in effect for ‘Lost Canadians’

Filed under C-3, Citizenship Tagged with

Celebrities with distant Canadian roots set to gain citizenship under new Liberal law

2025/12/11 Leave a comment

Not surprising when one looks at grandparents. Unclear how many, if any, will apply:

A group of well-known American public figures, including singer Madonna and former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton, would become eligible to be considered Canadian citizens under a federal law passed last month that removes long-standing limits on citizenship by descent.

Bill C-3, adopted on November 20, eliminates the “first-generation limit,” a restriction introduced in 2009 that prevented Canadian citizenship from being passed to children born abroad if their Canadian parent was also born outside the country.

The change extends eligibility for citizenship to people who would previously have been ineligible, provided they have a Canadian ancestor somewhere in their lineage. Eligible candidates would need to go through an application process once the bill comes into force.

As a result, several prominent Americans with distant roots would be eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship once the law comes into force.

Madonna, who was born in Michigan and holds only U.S. citizenship, has French-Canadian ancestry through her mother’s family, which traces back to 17th-century Quebec. Under the new law, those historic ties would allow the star to apply for Canadian citizenship.

Actor Viggo Mortensen, born in New York to an American mother and Danish father, would also qualify through his maternal grandfather, who was born in Parrsboro, N.S. Mortensen currently holds U.S. and Danish citizenship.

Actress Lily Collins, born in England and raised in California, would also become eligible for Canadian citizenship based on her maternal grandfather’s birthplace in Winnipeg.

Hillary Clinton, whose French-Canadian roots stretch back to New France through her maternal line, would likewise become eligible for Canadian citizenship. Her genealogy was detailed in her 2003 memoir, which traces family ties to Quebec ancestors, including the Filles du Roi.

Musician Jack White of Detroit similarly would qualify through his paternal grandfather, who was born in Nova Scotia.

The government says the law is intended to address long-standing concerns about the first-generation rule and allow Canadian families affected by it to transmit citizenship to their children. Going forward, Canadians born abroad would be permitted to pass citizenship to their own children born outside the country, subject to a “substantial connection to Canada” test.

Although the legislation has passed, an implementation date has not been announced.

Until then, interim measures remain in place that allow individuals affected by the former limit to apply for proof of citizenship online. Applicants approved under the temporary process will not need to reapply once Bill C-3 comes into force.

Source: Celebrities with distant Canadian roots set to gain citizenship under new Liberal law

Filed under C-3, Citizenship Tagged with

Canada brings big changes to citizenship rules; India-born people to benefit

2025/11/25 Leave a comment

As expected, Indian media has covered the change and likely impact on Indo-Canadians. Representative sample:

…The legislation will benefit those many Canadians who live and raise families abroad for various reasons, yet maintain a strong connection to the country. The bill could benefit thousands of Indian-origin families.

This amendment to the Citizenship Act acknowledges their Canadian identity, ensuring they can pass it on to their children regardless of where they are born….

Source: Canada brings big changes to citizenship rules; India-born people to benefit

Some estimates of numbers:

Barrister Lovleen Gill says the number of Indian immigrants who will benefit is not very large, since most are naturalised citizens and already able to pass on citizenship to children born abroad. But for Indian-origin families affected by overseas maternity during short-term work assignments, the change could still help more than 10,000 households.

If your grandchild was born abroad before 2025, they will almost certainly become Canadian automatically now, closing a long-standing gap for “lost Indian-Canadians”.

Source: Canada’s new citizenship-by-descent law: Recognition of ‘Lost Canadians’, impact on Indians

Filed under C-3, Citizenship Tagged with

Lost Canadians bill gets royal assent after years of parliamentary battles

2025/11/21 4 Comments

Will be interesting to see the actual take-up and to that effect, IRCC needs to resume regular reporting of citizenship proofs. Dispiriting that the government did not accept the annual public reporting amendment which, unlike other proposed amendments by the Conservatives and Bloc, did not fundamentally change the Bill.

Have a data request into IRCC for any analysis of the 4,200 pending applications and will share when received:

A bill allowing Canadians born outside the country to pass on their citizenship to future generations born abroad gained royal assent on Thursday, after years of parliamentary and judicial battles. 

The legislation, which cleared its final parliamentary stage in the Senate Wednesday night, reinstates rights of Lost Canadians and reverses 2009 changes made to the Citizenship Act by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, which stripped descendants of Canadians born abroad of their automatic right to citizenship. 

The government predicts tens of thousands of Lost Canadians could benefit from the change, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates about 115,000 could gain citizenship….

Source: Lost Canadians bill gets royal assent after years of parliamentary battles

Filed under C-3, Citizenship Tagged with

Feds helped push through citizenship for English soccer player in time to join Canadian squad

2025/11/20 Leave a comment

So let me get this straight.

While Minister Diab was making the case this Monday for passing C-3 quickly to avoid the absence of legislation that “it will open it up so that citizenship by descent will have no limit, and that’s exactly what I think a lot of people don’t want,” the government was fast tracking citizenship for a soccer player who apparently did not meeting the substantial connection case of having a parent who met the 1,095 day residency requirement.

In other words, skipping a generation and taking advantage of the legislative vacuum.

Depending on your perspective, clever or hypocritical move (latter in my opinion):

He is not the first soccer player to fly a flag of convenience in the run up to the World Cup, nor is he the only foreign-born player on Canada’s national soccer team. 

But few will have left it so close to their first match for Canada to take the citizenship oath. 

The Canadian national soccer team’s newest recruit is Alfie Jones, a Bristol-born defender who plays for second-tier English team Middlesborough. 

On Monday he took the citizenship oath in time to play for Canada on Tuesday in a pre-World Cup friendly match against Venezuela. 

Jones’s application for Canadian citizenship – made possible because he had an Alberta-born grandmother – was pushed through with the help of a government minister and a senior public servant in time for Tuesday’s kick off. …

Source: Feds helped push through citizenship for English soccer player in time to join Canadian squad

Filed under C-3, Citizenship Tagged with , ,

C-3 Citizenship by Descent: Senate Report Observations

2025/11/19 Leave a comment

The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology has the honour to present its

As expected, sailed through without amendments. Observations focussed on inter country adoptees (more of an recognition and identify issue than a practical one, as adoptees would have to live in the province of adoption and thus meet the residency test) and the need for modernization of the Citizenship Act. No concern about the operational impact and the data gaps (unfortunately, as expected):

SECOND REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), has, in obedience to the order of reference of Thursday, November 6, 2025, examined the said bill and now reports the same without amendment but with certain observations, which are appended to this report.

Respectfully submitted,

ROSEMARY MOODIE

Chair

Observations to the second report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (Bill C-3)

Bill C-3 represents meaningful progress in addressing injustices faced by many “Lost Canadians.” However, your Committee notes a continuing gap affecting some intercountry adoptees: children born abroad, adopted by Canadian parents living in Canada, and brought into the country through a rigorous and highly regulated adoption process governed by provincial/territorial laws and international obligations, including the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

Your Committee therefore encourages the Government of Canada to undertake further study and consider targeted legislative reforms to ensure that all intercountry adoptees are treated equivalently to Canadian-born adopted children with respect to citizenship acquisition and transmission.

Your Committee observes that the Citizenship Act has become increasingly complex and difficult for Canadians to understand. Given the many piecemeal amendments over decades, the Act would benefit from comprehensive modernization, including the adoption of plain-language drafting techniques.

Simplifying the Act would enhance public understanding, reduce administrative burdens, and ensure that Canadians can more easily know and exercise their citizenship rights and responsibilities.

Your Committee notes that Bill C-3 resolves many long-standing inequities relating to Lost Canadians but does not fully address all categories of affected persons.

Your Committee therefore encourages further study to identify remaining gaps and to support the development of future legislation that ensures all Canadians — whether by birth, adoption, or descent — are treated with fairness, consistency, and dignity.

Source: C-3 Citizenship by Descent: Senate Report Observations

Filed under C-3, Citizenship Tagged with

Senate urged to give children adopted from overseas the same citizenship rights as those born in Canada 

2025/11/17 Leave a comment

Perhaps I am a bit thick, but parents of foreign-born adoptees have to commit to raising their adopted child in Canada and thus would most likely meet the residency requirement of 1,095 days within a five-year period.  

The direct route to citizenship for adoptees was in response to parental pressure to have a faster route than PR sponsorship. But making that choice meant the adopted child was considered the first generation born abroad, like any naturally born child born abroad.

Appears more a matter of identity and convenience rather than fundamental practicalities to me:

….Two lawyers specializing in citizenship have submitted a briefing paper to the Senate committee, which will consider Bill C-3 this week. They argue that the bill should exempt children adopted from abroad from the substantial-connection test. 

The paper’s co-author, Toronto lawyer Sujit Choudhry, who filed the successful constitutional challenge to the Citizenship Act on behalf of Lost Canadian clients, said it is “deeply unfair to the families of these children to treat them differently than children adopted domestically.”

“It also violates Canada’s international treaty obligations and the Charter,” he said in an e-mail. 

Its other author, immigration lawyer Maureen Silcoff, suggested that unless Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada addresses the issue it could face a legal challenge. 

“IRCC is fully aware of the issue. Adoptive parents and MPs have been advocating on their behalf for years. We do not understand their reluctance to address this issue at this moment, when C-3 is before Parliament. Amending C-3 would avoid unnecessary litigation.”

Don Chapman, a leading advocate for Lost Canadians, who is giving evidence to the Senate committee this week, said, “I don’t want to leave any child behind.” 

But he expressed concern that amending the bill in the Senate may lead to it being held up when it returns to the Commons. …

Source: Senate urged to give children adopted from overseas the same citizenship rights as those born in Canada

Filed under C-3, Citizenship Tagged with , , ,

C-3 Citizenship: My Planned Remarks

2025/11/17 2 Comments

It will be a long SOCI meeting, as the Senate is holding all testimony in an over 4 hour session. Given the other witnesses, I will be the only contrarian voice on the need for a five-year limit to meet the residency requirement and the need for annual reporting of citizenship proofs issued under C-3 provisions (which the House immigration committee recommended but the Liberals and NDP reverted to the original bill at third reading).

CBA and CILA submissions focus largely on adoptions, advocating for birth date of adoptees, not the adoption date). CBA argues against requiring a consecutive residency requirement but doesn’t acknowledge that this can be cumulative within a five year period and would likely still be Charter compliant (allowing, to use their example, for Disneyland holidays).

Given the compressed timelines due to the court deadline, and the witness list, unlikely that SOCI will recommend and changes to C-3.

My planned remarks below:

C-3 Citizenship SOCI Remarks – FinalDownload

Link to meeting: Agenda

Filed under C-3, Citizenship, Multiculturalism Tagged with

C-3 Senate Hearing 17 November: My Submission

2025/11/11 Leave a comment

My submission, focussing on the Liberal/NDP agreement to remove the recommendations by the House Immigration Committee is below.

While removal and the unlikely to withstand legal challenges to language, knowledge and security/criminality proposals makes sense, removal of a time limit of five-years to meet the residency requirement of 1,095 days does not.

More puzzling is the removal of the requirement for annual reporting on the number of persons reclaiming their citizenship. The Minister and officials appeared weak when discussing the numbers and expected impacts, underlying the need for IRCC to share this data on open data or annual reports as they will be collecting it anyway:

C-3 Citizenship SOCI SubmissionDownload

Filed under C-3, Citizenship Tagged with ,

← Older posts