You’re Canadian under Bill C-3, but your future children might not be —…
Bill C-3 restored Canadian citizenship to anyone born before December 15, 2025, who can trace descent to a Canadian ancestor. The same legislation introduced a restriction that prevents those newly recognized citizens from automatically passing citizenship to children born abroad after that cutoff date unless the parent has lived in Canada for at least three years.
The restriction creates a split outcome within families. A woman in Boston whose grandmother emigrated from Quebec in the 1950s qualifies as Canadian under Bill C-3 because she was born before the December 2025 cutoff. Her son, born in 2023, is also automatically Canadian. Her daughter, born in 2027, is not. The mother has never lived in Canada, so the daughter does not inherit citizenship despite having the same parent and the same Canadian-born great-grandmother.
The mechanism is called the substantial connection test. For children born or adopted abroad after December 15, 2025, a Canadian parent who was also born abroad must demonstrate 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada before the child's birth or adoption. The days do not need to be consecutive and can fall at any point in the parent's life. If the parent has never spent extended time in Canada, the test is not met and citizenship does not transmit. The test applies permanently to every future child born abroad to a Canadian parent who was also born abroad.
"The substantial connection test is a permanent feature of the law," the release states.
The restriction affects Canadians who gained citizenship through Bill C-3 but have never resided in Canada, as well as their descendants. Children born before December 15, 2025, remain unaffected and are automatically Canadian. Children born after that date to parents who have not accumulated three years in Canada do not qualify. The effect compounds across generations: a child who does not inherit citizenship has no citizenship to pass on to their own children, ending the descent line entirely.
Canada grants automatic citizenship to anyone born on Canadian soil under the principle of jus soli, with the exception of children born to accredited foreign diplomats. Parents who have not met the substantial connection test can ensure their child receives citizenship by giving birth in Canada. The child becomes Canadian at birth regardless of the parents' immigration status or time spent in the country.
Via CIC News