Birthright Bill Sparks Citizenship Fight

By Mata Press Service

Bill C-3, the federal legislation aimed at reforming how Canadian citizenship is passed to children born abroad, has advanced to the committee stage after passing second reading in the House of Commons.

While originally proposed to resolve court-ordered issues affecting so-called Lost Canadians, the bill has ignited a broader national debate about birthright citizenship, migration pressures, and the meaning of Canadian identity.

The most recent flashpoint came when Conservatives attempted to strip automatic birthright citizenship from the legislation. The amendment sought to remove jus soli, the longstanding principle granting Canadian citizenship to anyone born on national soil, even if their parents are not citizens or permanent residents. The Liberals, backed by the Bloc Québécois, defeated the motion, ensuring that unrestricted birthright citizenship remains intact for now.

According to Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner, the failed amendment represented a missed opportunity to tighten what she calls “chain migration” incentives. In a statement on X, she wrote that Conservatives would continue pressing to end policies that “have brought into question the intrinsic value of Canadian citizenship.”

“For a decade, the Liberals have operationalized the philosophy of post-nationalism, asserting that there is no shared Canadian identity, while simultaneously bringing newcomers in at a rate where integrating them into Canada’s social and economic fabric has become challenging,” Rempel Garner said. “The result has been the breaking of Canada’s long-held immigration consensus, and confusion over the responsibilities associated with Canadian citizenship.”

Bill C-3 was introduced by the federal government to comply with a court ruling that found Canada’s existing Citizenship Act unconstitutional. Under current law, Canadian citizens born abroad cannot automatically pass citizenship to their own foreign-born children, a restriction imposed in 2009. The legislation aims to eliminate this generational cutoff, enabling citizenship by descent to extend beyond first-generation births.

The government argues that the change is necessary to address long-standing injustices affecting Lost Canadians, people who believed they were citizens by descent, only to discover they were not eligible under existing law. Officials were given until November 20, 2025, to implement a legislative fix.

However, what began as a targeted remedy has broadened into a contentious redefinition of who qualifies as Canadian, and under what conditions.

While birthright citizenship remains untouched, Bill C-3 has undergone major revision during committee review. Supported by Conservative and Bloc members, a series of amendments would now require Canadians born abroad to meet conditions before they can pass citizenship to children born outside Canada.

These include:

Language proficiency in English or French for applicants aged 18 to 55

Civic knowledge requirements similar to naturalization standards

Residency obligation of 1,095 days in Canada within any five-year period

Security and admissibility checks

Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe defended the changes, stating, “Everybody should be happy. The same rules apply to naturalized Canadians so why not here?”

Government officials, including representatives from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, cautioned that strict adherence could create a new wave of Lost Canadians by withholding citizenship from individuals who previously would have qualified automatically by descent.

Rempel Garner and other Conservative MPs warn that Canada's jus soli policy, combined with rising immigration levels, is generating significant pressure on housing, health care, and social cohesion.

She cited federal data showing that temporary residents now comprise more than seven per cent of the population, alongside an estimated 300,000 to 600,000 undocumented individuals.

Rempel Garner also pointed to the rise of birth tourism, saying it has increased by 590 per cent since 2015. “Restrictions must be placed on jus soli citizenship, levels must be lowered, and the overall system must be boldly reformed,” she wrote.

She argued that court delays, appeals, and limited deportation enforcement have created incentives for foreign nationals to give birth in Canada, in hopes their child’s citizenship will help anchor their stay. “While having a child on Canadian soil theoretically grants no immediate stay rights, in practice, deeply broken systems often allow them to remain,” she said.

Some analysts warn that Bill C-3 could unintentionally divide Canadians into two classes: those born in Canada with unrestricted citizenship rights, and those born abroad who must accumulate years of residency before passing on their citizenship.

A commentary by Andrew Griffith, the former director general for Citizenship and Multiculturalism, published in Policy Options questioned the bill’s lack of a time limit on the residency requirement. Unlike naturalized citizens who must complete 1,095 days in a five-year period, Canadians by descent can meet the residency threshold over an undefined timeline, potentially spanning decades.

The commentary warned that without a set timeframe, verifying proof of residency will pose major challenges for citizenship officers and could overwhelm an already backlogged system. It raised concerns about potential foreign interference, noting that Canadians by descent currently face no security vetting when claiming citizenship for children.

The Liberal government maintains that Bill C-3 is necessary to uphold constitutional obligations and reinforce Canada’s inclusive values. Officials insist citizenship by descent must be restored for those unfairly excluded under the previous law and that safeguards introduced in committee ensure continued connection to Canada.

But the government has not released impact projections. When appearing before a Senate committee on a similar bill last year, former immigration minister Marc Miller acknowledged the number of eligible applicants could rise, but said there were no “wild scenarios” involving hundreds of thousands of new citizens.

Bill C-3 is expected to return to the House for third reading in the coming months, where birthright citizenship could resurface as a defining issue. With New Democratic Party support likely, the bill may pass, but Conservatives are poised to use it as a platform to push for broader immigration reform.

The debate now extends beyond the legislative text, said a Vancouver-based immigration lawyer.

“It poses a fundamental question: should Canadian citizenship be an inherited right based on lineage and birthplace, or an earned status requiring active commitment to the country? Bill C-3 is no longer only about Lost Canadians. It has become a referendum on what it will mean, in the future, to call oneself Canadian,” he said.