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News Release
Legislation to restore citizenship to lost Canadians
Ottawa, December 10, 2007 — The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today tabled a bill to give Canadian citizenship to those who have lost or never had Canadian citizenship because of outdated provisions in existing and former legislation.
“I want to express my support for all those who have had their citizenship questioned due to outdated laws that have been on the books for many years,” said Minister Finley. “I am proud to introduce comprehensive legislation on this issue. Our government is taking action to fix past citizenship problems, to recognize Canadian citizens and to protect the value of Canadian citizenship for the future.”
The proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act would mean that:
- Anyone who was born in Canada or who became a Canadian on or after January 1, 1947, when the first citizenship act took effect, and who then lost citizenship, would have their status restored. This includes war brides who are not already Canadian. It also includes people born in Canada prior to 1947 who became citizens when the first citizenship act took effect on January 1, 1947. The exceptions would be those who renounced their citizenship with Canadian authorities, those born in Canada to a foreign diplomat, or those whose citizenship was revoked by the government because it was obtained by fraud.
- Anyone born abroad to a Canadian on or after January 1, 1947, if not already a citizen, would be recognized as a Canadian citizen from birth, but only if they are the first generation born abroad. The exceptions would be those who renounced their citizenship.
- No one who is a citizen today would lose their citizenship as a result of these amendments.
“We are proposing a broad and generous legislative solution that will eliminate complex bureaucratic processes and give people the citizenship status they deserve,” said Minister Finley.
Under existing and former legislation passed by previous Parliaments, there are several reasons why people could have lost their citizenship or were never recognized as Canadians.
For example, between 1947, when the first citizenship act took effect, and 1977, when it was replaced, Canadians may have lost citizenship if they or a parent took up citizenship in another country, such as the United States. Another example is a person born abroad to a Canadian parent who did not take steps to register the birth with Canadian citizenship authorities.
Under the law as it stands today, if you lost your citizenship, you have to apply to resume it and meet certain criteria. In extraordinary cases, the minister of Citizenship and Immigration may seek approval for a special grant of citizenship from the Cabinet. In 2007, approximately 100 cases were resolved through special grants.
It is not known how many people will take advantage of the opportunity this legislation offers, but it is expected to be substantially more than the relatively small number of individuals who benefited from the case-by-case approach used until now. Among other reasons, this is because the proposed legislation would extend the right of citizenship to those born to Canadians outside the country on or after January 1, 1947.
“This legislation will deal with 95 percent of those people who either lost their citizenship and shouldn’t have, or who never had it in the first place but should have,” said Minister Finley. “The rest we will be able to handle on a case-by-case basis as we have done all this year.”
For a copy of the bill, please refer to the House Government Bills section of the Parliament of Canada website.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Tim Vail
Press Secretary
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064
Karen Shadd-Evelyn
Spokesperson, Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
