I Qualify for Canadian Citizenship?!? Hell Yeah!
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
A little history
Canadian Citizenship as a legal status didn’t exist until the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1946, but it had some troubling (to say the least) sexist and racist components, not entirely dissimilar to the US btw). The 1976 Citizenship Act (known as the "1977 act" because of when it took effect) reformed some of this (for example, allowing people to derive nationality from their mother and not just their father), but it was far from inclusive.
A new requirement was established for Canadians to be registered with the government by a certain age or they would lose their citizenship. This resulted in a lot of Canadians losing their citizenship perhaps because they didn't realize it was a requirement or that they had never been registered. After 9/11, the US began to require passports for border crossings with Canada, causing a lot of Canadians to apply for passports only to find out that they weren't considered Canadian citizens for failure to apply to maintain citizenship. These people would become known as "lost Canadians."
Activists and organizers fought for decades to create more equitable recognition for women, BIPOC, foreign-born, and Indigenous peoples and the Canadian legislature amended the 1976 Citizenship Act in 2009, 2015, and 2017.
A Court Ruling and A New Law
In 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that the first-generation limit for citizenship by descent was unconstitutional because the rights of citizens was dependent on the location of birth. The court required the government to pass legislation that would remediate the impacts to those affected. Here's the ruling if you want to read it: https://www.scribd.com/document/694150902/Bjorkquist-et-al-v-Attorney-General-of-Canada
Bill C-3 "An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025)" came into effect on 15 December 2025 with key changes:
1) If you were born before 15 December 2025, the first-generation limit for citizenship by descent (i.e., there is NO generational limit for these people).
2) If you were born after 15 December 2025 (wow look at you reading already!), to a Canadian parent also born or adopted abroad, you must demonstrate that their Canadian parent has spent three years (or 1,095 cumulative days) in Canada when applying for proof of Canadian citizenship, or applying for Canadian citizenship for an adopted child.
Since I was born before 15 December 2025, that meant that I could apply for a Citizenship Certificate that would prove that I was a Canadian citizen under the revised law and I would need to prove that I was the direct descendant of a Canadian citizen. HELL YEAH!