06/01/2026
4,075 people approved for Canadian citizenship in three months under Bill C-3. Half are Americans. 🇨🇦🇺🇸
What changed:
Bill C-3 removed the one-generation limit on citizenship by descent. You can now qualify if you have a Canadian ancestor, generations back.
The numbers:
- 1,955 Americans
- 900 Mexicans
- 140 British
Why Americans are applying:
Political concerns. LGBTQ+ safety. Fear of draft. Uncertainty about the U.S. direction.
Montreal immigration lawyer: "The vast majority of our clients are American."
The backlog problem:
Processing times jumped from 5 months (May 2025) to 12 months now. 70,400 applications waiting.
Potential scope:
Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates 115,000 people could ultimately qualify.
Historical context:
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians (especially from Quebec) migrated to the U.S. in the 1800s-1900s for work. Their descendants now have a pathway to Canadian citizenship.
Interested in citizenship by descent? Send us a DM. 📩