Americans Seeking Canadian Citizenship After Bill C-3 Change
New citizenship law sparks surge of U.S. inquiries from those with Canadian ancestry, immigration lawyers say.
A quiet legislative change in December is now generating a quiet exodus inquiry from Americans. Bill C-3, which removed the first-generation cap on citizenship by descent, has unleashed a wave of Americans seeking Canadian citizenship through previously unreachable family lineage.
The change means anyone who can trace their citizenship back to a Canadian-born ancestor—no matter how many generations removed—can now apply. Jessica Jensen, an immigration lawyer at MLT Aikins, says her firm and others across Canada have been flooded with inquiries, overwhelmingly from Americans anxious about the current U.S. political climate.
"The current administration in the U.S., there are a lot of folks looking for work opportunities or resident opportunities in Canada," Jensen explained. "Having a great-grandparent who was Canadian and had Canadian citizenship that they could attach themselves to has really opened that door for them."
Manitoba Vital Statistics offers concrete proof of the surge: applications from U.S. mailing addresses citing citizenship as the reason jumped from 48 in 2021 to 71 in 2024 to 225 in 2025. So far in 2026, there have already been 256 applications. Alastair Clarke, an immigration lawyer in Winnipeg, says his firm has been "flooded with calls" from Americans viewing Canadian citizenship as a "backup plan."
But the law has created complications. Those who renounced Canadian citizenship between the 1940s and 1970s—when it was required to gain U.S. citizenship—are now raising questions about whether those renunciations bar them from reapplying. Immigration lawyers are navigating unprecedented legal terrain, and government resources are being stretched.
For Canada, it's a strange form of soft-power recruitment: Americans choosing to reconnect with Canadian roots in direct response to U.S. political uncertainty. Whether this becomes a permanent trend or a temporary spike remains to be seen.