We moved to Canada in 2012, and my kids chose to stay in the US.

With this new law, they (my daughter in particular) want to get their citizenship. They don’t own to move here anytime soon, but it will make things easier tax wise when they eventually inherit our house.

I'm only about an hour from the border. Might be worth it. I'm getting pretty sick of the shit going on here.

Last edited Sat Apr 4, 2026, 01:45 AM - Edit history (1)

If you are eligible, hopefully this would provide you with dual citizenship which gives you a ready option to leave if it comes to that.

There are some 1800s French fur traders and Native Americans from the Great Lakes area in my ancestry, I'll be checking on this.

My grandparents used to go fishing in Canada every year for decades, and I did acute care transcription for a big hospital in Toronto for like 15 years. Waiting for someone to dig up a random rule to let me move there, too!

I’d give up Florida (and tourists) in a heartbeat if I could convince my kids to come with me. *sigh*

Last edited Fri Apr 3, 2026, 09:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Mine goes one generation more.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/act-changes/rules-2025.html

It goes back as many generations as you can provide the *required documentation* for.
source:
the general consensus of https://www.reddit.com/r/Canadiancitizenship/

my understanding is that it applies to all generations as long as you can demonstrate a direct lineage.

Apparently all I have to do is apply for proof of citizenship.

(My great-great-grandfather was born in Ontario Canada). Woo woo!!

Many of my great great grandparents were born in Canada, but sadly I don't think it does it for us.

Prior to bill C-3, it was limited to 3 generations. C-3 was intended to correct the situation for lost Canadians.

ETA: Now I'm finding conflicting information. I'll keep looking.

they count to the third generation back.

(Summary, not the actual text of the law):

Persons born outside Canada prior to December 15, 2025, to a parent who was also born outside Canada and who was a Canadian citizen at the time of their birth, are now automatically considered Canadian citizens from birth.

So my great-grandfather was born outside of Canada to my great-great-grandfather (born in Canada) becomes a Canadian citizen from birth.
My grandmother, who was born to my great-grandfather (a citizen from birth, by virtue of the first sentence) was also a Canadian citizen at her birth, making my grandmother a Canadian citizen from birth
My father, who was born to my grandmother (a citizen from birth, by virtue of the second sentence), was a Canadian citizen at the time of his birth, making him a Canadian citizen from birth
And I was born to my father (a Canadian citizen from birth by virtue of the third sentence), a person who was a Canadian citizen at the time of my birth, making me a Canadian citizen from birth

It is worded very strangely - but the immigration law firm sites I looked at all included "subsequent generations"

and it only talks about claiming it through great-grandparent.

I may have to get my father to apply for proof of citizenship, then once he can prove he is a citizen I should be able to apply for proof of citizenship through him. Or I may even cough up a few bucks and consult an Canadian immigration attorney - since their sites expressly talk about successive generations.

It's been a fun rabbit hole, at least.

As someone who grew up in New England and has ancestry that came from Canada in the early 19th century, I can be a dual citizen and enjoy running on Dunkin and settling in at a Tim Hortons!

and my wife has been working the better part of a year trying to gather up all the required documents. Just one left and she should have it shortly. Then we have to decide what to do with it. Both of us in our 80's and too old to start over, but would really like to go live in Canada.

Once I get the documents together, I can just duplicate them for him. And once my citizenship is recognized, It will be a quick add for my daughter - who would love to leave the United States - but with $200,000 a year in billed medical expenses no country in their right mind would take her. But it looks like Canada won't have a choice. It will be nice to give her a choice of someplace else to live.

Kinda got off track - The point is that it is nice to have options, no matter where you are currently And it's nice to think about belonging someplace other than the US.

My father's parents immigrated from Switzerland in 1910. On my mother's side, my ancestors came from Switzerland to the South Carolina colony in 1740's.

Next time I visit my daughter in DC I'm going to the Swiss embassy to see about long-term residency, maybe even citizenship.

Hmmm.

My Dad and his immediate family (Mom, Dad and 12 children) all immigrated from Quebec. There had been a 13th child that died very young... There were other relatives who stayed in Quebec. I feel certain that I would qualify.

This "new Canadian citizenship law" is certainly intriguing. I was looking into doing this during W's reign, and this was NOT available back then.

Most interesting! Thank you for posting this!!!

And then emigrated to Ontario in 1800, then were displaced to the USA during the war of 1812. Back to “New York”, then what is now Ohio. Does that count? It was long before Canada was its own country.

It does depend though on whether your ancestors actually became Canadian citizens after they emigrated to Ontario. Also, one ancestor has to be a "parent" (grand, great grand, etc.), not a ninth aunt, uncle or cousin or whatever as I understand it.

To start, you could try asking one of the AIs such as Gemini or ChatGPT, keeping in mind the results may not be totally accurate but, might give some further insight as to proceeding further.

Maine's border was very porous in the good old days. Lots of folks here qualify.

The process apparently takes months, after you gather documentation to establish the chain. So don't hold your breath!

Great Grandparent went through Canada in the 1880's, likely she were never a citizen, maybe a year or two, from Ireland ended up in Ohio.
If things get much worse I might need to dig deeper.

Mother -b. St. Paul MN Feb 1924
Grandfather - b. Centerville MN July 1893
Great Grandfather - b. Gentilly, Quebec, Canada
December 1854
2nd great grandfather - b. Quebec Canada
November 1815
3rd great grandfather - b. Champlain, Quebec, Canada
May 1771
4th great grandfather - b. Champlain, Francheville, Quebec, Canada
September 1724
5th great grandfather - b. Champlain, Co. Champlain, P. Q., Ca.
January 1685
6th great grandfather - b. 15 décembre 1641La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France
d. 12 juin 1717Champlain, Trois-Rivières, Canada, Nouvelle-France

My grandfather’s mom’s family line extends back in Canada pretty much about the same..enough that Ancestry.com lists this under my DNA origins: French Canada 15% (Quebec 12% Acadia 3%)

Nothing much to loose in any case.

French Canadian family so I'll have to do some digging!