Advocating for fair and inclusive citizenship

In a nutshell

The CBA’s Immigration Law Section supports automatic citizenship by descent beyond the first generation when a strong connection to Canada is demonstrated. It also emphasizes the need to improve how adoptees are treated under the Citizenship Act.

In a letter to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, the Section made recommendations related to Bill C-71 – An Act to amend the Citizenship Act, which died on the Order Paper following the January 2025 prorogation of Parliament. They align with the CBA’s longstanding support for citizenship laws that are fair, just and inclusive.

Historical context

The CBA letter traces the evolution of citizenship laws in Canada back to the 1914 Nationalization Act, which made distinctions based on the marital status of the parents and other conditions that would seem jarring to today’s readers. It also created barriers for persons born outside the country to gain or retain Canadian citizenship. Subsequent reforms modernized the legal notion of citizenship but inadvertently caused some individuals born abroad to Canadian parents—who were themselves born outside Canada—to lose their eligibility for citizenship.

Bill C-71 sought to address this by restoring the citizenship rights of those “lost Canadians,” provided they could demonstrate a “substantial connection” to Canada. The bill defined substantial connection to Canada as the Canadian parents having been physically present for 1,095 days in Canada prior to the child’s birth.

Recommendations

The CBA Section argues that the 1,095-day presence requirement should not mandate consecutive days.

“Whether a person does or does not leave Canada for a vacation or business trip once every three years has no bearing on whether that person has a substantial connection to Canada,” the letter reads.

As well, the condition should not apply retroactively. The submission notes that “[a]s a practical matter, it would be impossible for a seventy-year-old second-generation applicant today to prove that their Canadian citizen parent lived in Canada for 1,095 days prior to their birth.”

Equal treatment for adoptees

The CBA Section also recommends that persons adopted by Canadian parents be treated the same as biological children of Canadian parents. Specifically, it advocates for amending the legislation to ensure to grant citizenship to adoptees retroactively to their date of birth rather than the date their application is approved. The Submission argues: “This would be consistent with the approach taken in the United States and would ensure that all children of Canadian citizens are treated equally under the law.”

Read the submission.