June 5, 2025
Parteek Mahal
Ottawa: The Liberal Party has introduced legislation to amend the Citizenship Act. The new law introduced today will extend citizenship by descent rules beyond the first generation.
Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act, will automatically grant citizenship to any person who would be a citizen today if not for the first-generation limit. Under current rules, a Canadian citizen born outside Canada cannot pass their citizenship to their child if that child was also born outside the country.
Two years ago, the Ontario Superior Court declared the first-generation limit unconstitutional for many people. The government decided not to appeal the decision, but the rule continued to apply after the court suspended its declaration.
The new law will allow access to citizenship beyond the first generation as long as the parent has spent at least 1,095 consecutive days, or three years, physically in Canada before the child’s birth.
A news release from the federal government says the law “will work in a way that is inclusive and protects the value of Canadian citizenship.”
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