SOCI – Chronology - Lost Canadians – December 5, 2024

History & Key Dates

• January 1, 1947: The Canadian Citizenship Act (1947 Act) came into force, marking the beginning of Canadian citizenship as a legal status.
• It contained provisions now considered outdated and resulted in some losing or not being able to acquire citizenship based on their gender and marital status, place of birth or naturalization status. For example:
  • Canadian women married to foreign national men could not pass on citizenship to their children born abroad.
  • Those born outside of Canada to a Canadian parent (no matter the generation) lost citizenship if they didn’t take steps to keep it. First, their birth had to be registered and they had to file to retain their citizenship before their 22nd (later 24th) birthday (or, after 1953, be living in Canada at the time).
  • Naturalized citizens lost citizenship if they left Canada for more than six (or later, ten) consecutive years.
  • Dual citizenship was not permitted.
• Over time, groups emerged who identified themselves as “Lost Canadians,” a term that originally referred to individuals who lost or never acquired Canadian citizenship due to these outdated provisions.
• February 15, 1977: A new Citizenship Act came into force making changes to address the previous rules, including:
  • Allowing dual citizenship.
  • Allowing a child born abroad to claim citizenship regardless of their parent’s gender or marital status.
  • Considering those born abroad to a Canadian parent as automatically Canadian at birth with no need to register their birth.
  • Eliminating the retention requirements for those born abroad in the first generation. Individuals born abroad in the second and subsequent generations were no longer required to be registered and were considered to be Canadians at birth but had to retain their citizenship by age 28 (known as the Section 8 retention rules). If they did not meet the requirements or did not apply to retain their status by age 28, citizenship was lost on their 28th birthday.
• The 1977 Act did not remedy those who had already lost or never acquired citizenship under the 1947 Act.
• April 17, 2009 (Bill C-37): Amendments introduced to restore or give citizenship to the majority of “Lost Canadians.” The Bill addressed cases back to January 1, 1947.
• Retention requirements were also repealed and replaced with a first generation limit to citizenship by descent. The new rule meant that a Canadian parent could pass on citizenship by descent to a child born outside of Canada if that parent was either born in Canada or naturalized before the child’s birth (with exceptions for children and, later, grandchildren of Crown Servants).
• Those born between February 15, 1977, and April 16, 1981, who had already turned 28 years old and had lost their citizenship under the former Section 8 retention rules, did not have their citizenship restored.
• June 11, 2015 (Bill C-24): extended citizenship to more “Lost Canadians” born before January 1, 1947, and to their children born in the first generation abroad.
• In total, nearly 20,000 individuals had their citizenship status remedied or acquired through the 2009 and 2015 amendments.
• Post 2015 - Remaining “Lost Canadians”: Neither the 2009 nor 2015 changes remedied the following cohorts as they were born beyond the first generation:
  • Section 8 “Lost Canadians”: Those born abroad to a Canadian parent in the second or subsequent generation who acquired citizenship at birth but who did not apply to retain their citizenship or applied but were not successful on their application before turning 28.
  • Descendants of previously remedied “Lost Canadians”: The descendants of “Lost Canadians” born abroad in second or subsequent generations. This cohort was excluded from citizenship by descent because of the first generation limit.
  • About 35 to 40 persons considered Section 8 “Lost Canadians” per year come forward to apply to regain their citizenship through a discretionary grant of citizenship.
• May 12, 2022: Senate Public Bill S-245 was introduced and, as amended by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, would restore citizenship to those who lost it due to the former Section 8 retention rules. The Bill would also allow for citizenship beyond the first generation to those born after April 16, 2009, to a Canadian citizen parent able to demonstrate a substantial connection to Canada prior to their child’s birth. Bill S-245, as amended, also provides for a similar scheme for access to the direct grant of citizenship for those born abroad and adopted by a Canadian.
• May 23, 2024: Bill C-71, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2024) was introduced and would restore and bestow citizenship to more individuals and their descendants who are born abroad in the second or subsequent generation before Bill C-71 becomes law. This includes bestowing citizenship to Section 8 “Lost Canadians” and the descendants of previously remedied “Lost Canadians.”
• On a go forward basis, Bill C-71 would also allow a Canadian parent born or adopted abroad who has a substantial connection to Canada to pass citizenship to their child who is also born abroad beyond the first generation. Similarly, the Bill provides access, beyond the first generation, to the existing direct grant of citizenship for those born abroad and adopted after C-71 becomes law by a Canadian parent who can demonstrate substantial connection to Canada before the adoption.