Josh Duhamel is among the millions of Americans who became Canadian…
Actor Josh Duhamel became a Canadian citizen on December 15, 2025, along with millions of other Americans, when Canada passed Bill C-3 and eliminated the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent. The Transformers star qualifies through his French-Canadian ancestry: his great-great-grandfather William Duhamel was born in Stormont, Ontario, and William's parents were both born in Quebec.
Before Bill C-3, Canadian citizenship by descent stopped at the first generation born outside Canada. A child born abroad to a Canadian parent could claim citizenship, but that child's own children could not — even if they had documentation proving a Canadian grandparent. The December 2025 amendment removed that cutoff entirely. Now anyone who can trace an unbroken line of descent to a Canadian ancestor qualifies for citizenship, regardless of how many generations separate them from that ancestor.
Duhamel's father, Larry, is one-eighth French-Canadian, as reported by CIC News. According to genealogy records, Larry's grandfather William was born in Ontario, and William's parents were both born in Quebec. The surname Duhamel itself is French for "from the hamlet," a common name in French-Canadian communities. Duhamel previously discussed his ancestry on the genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?, saying his grandfather's side of the family came from French Canada.
"My grandpa's side of the family, I think, is from French Canada," Duhamel said on the show.
The change affects millions of Americans, particularly those with roots in New England, where large numbers of French-Canadian families settled between 1840 and 1930 during a mass emigration historians call the Great Hemorrhage. Americans with grandparents who spoke French or family ties to communities historically known for high concentrations of French-Canadian residents now have a higher likelihood of qualifying for Canadian citizenship under the new law.
To claim citizenship, eligible individuals must apply for a Proof of Canadian Citizenship certificate through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. The application requires compliant copies of official documents — birth certificates, marriage records, and death records — tracing lineage back to the Canadian ancestor. Processing currently takes approximately one year. After receiving the certificate, applicants can apply for a Canadian passport, which takes 10 to 20 business days to process. No citizenship test, oath, or residency requirement applies to those qualifying by descent.
Source: CIC News — published 2026-06-06.