American applicants drive sharp rise in Canadian citizenship certificate requests

Bill C-3, adopted last year, expands eligibility for Canadian citizenship to individuals who can demonstrate descent from a Canadian ancestor, even several generations removed. From its launch in mid-December through the end of May, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada granted 6,100 certificates, a notable increase from earlier months, and an additional 17,390 people received certificates based on having a Canadian parent.

Americans account for nearly half of those recognized, with 3,110 qualifying via ancestry and 8,125 through a Canadian parent. Meanwhile, the queue of pending applications has ballooned to 121,800, pushing average processing times to about 25 months. The surge has also strained Canada’s archival sector, as institutions report a 100-300 percent jump in requests for historic records needed to verify lineage, often requiring labor-intensive searches of microfilm and non-searchable documents. Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab’s office says the department is monitoring volumes and adjusting operations to maintain program integrity.