December 3,2025
RED FM News Desk
The Conservatives are urging the Liberal government to end “one-click citizenship” and make all citizenship ceremonies in-person once again.
“Last year, over half of new Canadians obtained citizenship simply by clicking a box online. That’s crazy,” Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said Wednesday. She described in-person ceremonies as the “essential unifying bedrock of Canada’s civic life” and said returning to them would restore their “community significance.” New Canadians first started taking their citizenship oaths virtually in April 2020 due to social distancing measures.
In July 2022, the federal government resumed in-person ceremonies but kept the virtual option to process more applicants.
The government noted that virtual ceremonies became very popular; in the last six months of 2022, fewer than 10% of new Canadians chose in-person ceremonies. Virtual ceremonies, however, are not just a “one-click” process. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requires several steps, including meeting with an official via videoconference to verify identity and cut up the permanent resident card, then joining a virtual ceremony to take the oath, sign a declaration, and submit it to IRCC.
In 2023, the government considered letting people self-affirm their citizenship oath, but public consultation showed 61% opposed and only 36% supportive.
Conservative MP Tom Kmiec backed a petition calling for IRCC to make in-person ceremonies the default. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Paul Chiang responded, noting that virtual ceremonies have helped IRCC reduce wait times.
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