Demand for Canadian citizenship certificates soaring, fuelled by Americans

Canadian Citizenship Demand Explodes as Thousands of Americans Seek Their Roots

Applications for Canadian citizenship certificates are rising rapidly, with thousands of people in the United States among those seeking proof of Canadian citizenship, CBC News has learned.

The number of people who have received Canadian citizenship certificates under Parliament’s “Lost Canadian” legislation has increased by nearly 50 per cent between April 1 and May 31, according to new data obtained by CBC.

Bill C-3 allows people to claim Canadian citizenship if they can prove they are descended from a Canadian ancestor, even when that ancestor left Canada several generations ago. The legislation was adopted after courts ruled that limiting citizenship to the first generation born outside Canada was too restrictive.

Between mid-December, when Bill C-3 took effect, and May 31, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) granted about 6,100 Canadian citizenship certificates to people who now qualify under the new rules.

That compares with 4,075 certificates issued under Bill C-3 between mid-December and March 31.

Another 17,390 people received Canadian citizenship certificates because they have a Canadian parent. Before the legislation was adopted, people born outside Canada generally had to have a Canadian parent to qualify for citizenship.

Tip of the iceberg

The Canadian citizenship certificates allow the 23,490 newly recognized Canadian citizens to apply for Canadian passports and live and work in Canada.

Elections Canada, however, says they cannot vote in federal elections unless they have lived in Canada at some point in their lives.

People born in the U.S. make up nearly half of those recognized between mid-December and the end of May.

According to IRCC data, 3,110 Americans qualified for Canadian citizenship certificates under Bill C-3. Another 8,125 Americans received certificates because one of their parents was born in Canada.

But those numbers may represent only the beginning of a much larger surge.

The number of applications for Canadian citizenship certificates waiting for a decision has jumped sharply. In April, about 56,000 applications were waiting to be processed. That number rose to 70,400 in May.

The IRCC website now says 121,800 people are waiting for a decision. The applications can involve anything from seeking recognition as a Canadian citizen under Bill C-3 to requesting a replacement for a lost or stolen certificate.

At the same time, the estimated processing time has more than doubled, rising from 12 months in May to 25 months as of Aug. 10.

Estimates of how many people could eventually qualify for Canadian citizenship under Bill C-3 vary widely.

Some estimates point to more than 100 years of migration during the 1800s and 1900s, when hundreds of thousands of Canadians, particularly from Quebec, crossed the border to find work in the United States.

The parliamentary budget officer has estimated that 115,000 people could be affected by the change in the law.

Last October, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab told the House of Commons immigration committee that she did not expect a flood of applications for Canadian citizenship certificates after Bill C-3 took effect.

“We anticipate volumes in the tens of thousands over time,” she said. “We do not expect any surge.”

Taous Ait, a spokesperson for Metlege Diab, said IRCC had taken steps to prepare for Bill C-3 before it came into effect. The department is also working to process applications as quickly as possible while protecting the integrity of the citizenship program.

“We’re closely monitoring application volumes and trends and will adjust our operations as needed to manage demand as efficiently as possible,” Ait said.

IRCC has not changed its document requirements, she added, but has taken steps to make the requirements for Canadian citizenship certificates clearer on its website and in other information provided to the public.

Demand soars for genealogical records

At the same time, Canadian archivists are reporting a sharp increase in requests for genealogical records needed by people applying for Canadian citizenship certificates under Bill C-3.

Applicants must be able to prove an unbroken line of descent from a Canadian ancestor.

Alyssa Hyduk, president of the Association of Canadian Archivists, said members are overwhelmed by the demand, with some institutions reporting increases of 100 to 300 per cent.

Some requests involve documents dating back hundreds of years, she said.

“I think across the board there is this overwhelming feeling of just, of overwhelm and burnout … it’s really having an impact,” Hyduk said.

“These requests are taking up so much of archivists’ time that other reference requests — the [ones from the] rest of the public that we’re trying to still serve and do all our jobs — those are being set back too.”

Hyduk said most of the requests appear to be coming from the United States and are often difficult to complete. Some records predate Confederation, while others are held in small church archives.

“We are at the point where [we’re] going through boxes and boxes of material to find a single document sometimes,” she said. “You are going through reels of microfilm to find ship manifests with one name.”

“And these aren’t searchable documents,” she added. “We can’t go to Ctrl+F and find a last name. We have to read the handwriting. We have to figure it out.”

Archivists need more funding, says group

Mab Coates-Davies, executive director of the association, said the growing number of requests for records connected to Canadian citizenship certificates can also take an emotional toll on archivists.

“It is personal, it’s emotionally charged, it’s about family history,” she said. “There’s so many reasons that people, you know, might be looking to leave the States right now or planning for future moves.

“And so, there is that human element to it that archivists are feeling and experiencing, and frankly, IRCC isn’t on that front line in terms of the documentation.”

Archivists are also dealing with changing requirements for acceptable documents, Hyduk said.

When the association recently met with IRCC, the department did not want to provide a definitive list of acceptable documents because the requirements could change.

The association is calling for more funding for archives across Canada to help handle the increased demand for records created by Bill C-3 and applications for Canadian citizenship certificates.

Coates-Davies said the surge in requests came just as the Carney government’s budget cuts ended Library and Archives Canada’s $1.5-million-a-year Documentary Heritage Communities program. Many small and medium-sized archives across the country had relied on the program for funding support.

“This funding package was just cut and then our workload skyrocketed,” Coates-Davies said.

Last October, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said she didn’t expect a flood of applications for Canadian citizenship certificates once Bill C-3 went into effect.

Another wave looms?

During an association meeting last week, some archivists were already preparing for another potential wave of requests for genealogical records.

In June, IRCC suddenly suspended an estimated 100 certificates that had already been issued after identifying problems with documents submitted with the applications.

Archivists are concerned that some people who have already applied for Canadian citizenship certificates could be sent back to archives to find additional genealogical records.

IRCC says 83 of the suspended certificates have since been restored. The department has sent procedural fairness letters to another 17 people whose certificates remain suspended, giving them 60 days to submit the documents needed to prove their Canadian ancestry.

If they cannot provide acceptable proof, their Canadian citizenship certificates could be revoked.

New Democrat immigration critic Jenny Kwan said she has received letters and inquiries from people affected by the suspension notices. She has also written to Metlege Diab seeking answers.

“It really makes no sense whatsoever, what’s going on,” Kwan said. “And the minister is completely ignoring that reality right now.”