This site recounts my personal journey to apply for proof of Canadian citizenship. It is not legal advice. For official info check out the Government of Canada’s IRCC
My Complete Application Package for my Canadian Citizenship Certificate
If you're not a G1 (i.e, your parent is/was a Canadian citizen), you'll have to apply using a paper application. Luckily, IRCC has a guide for applications.
Here's the list of requirements listed in the CIT0014 (The Document Checklist for CIT0001) for citizenship certificate applications - note that you need to include your CIT0014 in the app package too:
Application for a Citizenship Certificate (CIT0001), completed, signed and dated
Two (2) pieces of valid personal identification, one of which must have a photo
Your country specific birth certificate displaying the name of your Canadian parent(s), issued by the appropriate government authority in the country where you were born
Proof that at least one of your parents (legal parent at birth or biological parent) is a Canadian citizen [and the same for the earlier generations until you get to your G0]
Proof of any other nationalities acquired by you and your Canadian parent before February 15, 1977, if applicable to you [note that US birth certificates prove US citizenship]
Other requirements that might be applicable for you:
If you're using a representative like an attorney or if you want someone else to be able to talk to the IRCC about your case - IMM 5476 Use of a Representative
If you want your citizenship certificate to have a different sex or gender than is listed on your birth certificate - IRM 0002 Statutory Declaration - Request for Change of Sex or Gender, completed, signed and dated
Proof of legal name change
My Application Package
When I finally had all of my records collected and assembled my application package, this is what I ended up including:
A Contents and Citation Page (for each record, I included what it was and specifically what that record showed [e.g., male child born to <parent> on <birth date> in <town> on row #])
Cover Letter, including a request for urgent processing and the proof to support the request
CIT 0001 and an addendum to Section 9 for my great-grandparent (who was my G0)
Two (2) Citizenship photographs
Two (2) proofs of personal identification - for me that was my driver’s license and US passport
Proof of Payment (the receipt from the online payment - they give you a PDF on the website, but they also email it to you)
CIT 0014 - Document Checklist Application for a Citizenship Certificate
Color Copies of the Supporting Documentation
Simplified family tree showing me as the direct descendent
Gen 0 - Town Birth Register (handwritten), Town Birth Register Index (typed), two (2) Canadian census records, Marriage License, Certified Death Certificate
Gen 1 - Certified Birth Certificate
Gen 2 - Certified Birth Certificate
Gen 3 (ME!) - Certified Birth Certificate and Certified Name Change Record
Between each section, I included a section cover page to make sure that it was easy for to navigate and it had the added benefit of helping me to make sure that I had included everything in my application.
That’s it! When I look at this list of documents, it sure felt like I had done more work than it shows, but that’s true. I had found many more records and done a lot of work to be able to get to the point that I could submit. In the end, I only wanted to submit what was necessary to prove that I was a descendent of a Canadian and I didn’t want to make the file more complicated than it needed to be.