The surge follows the passage of Bill C-3, an amendment to Canada’s Citizenship Act that took effect on Dec. 15, 2025. The law removed a first-generation limit imposed in 2009 that had barred Canadian citizens born abroad from passing citizenship to children also born outside the country.
The restriction was struck down by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in December 2023 as unconstitutional, and the Canadian government did not appeal, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
The result: Americans who can prove direct lineage from a Canadian citizen, going back any number of generations, are now eligible to apply for proof of citizenship.
An estimated three million Americans in New England alone may qualify, most tracing their ancestry to Canadians who migrated south between 1870 and 1930, CIC News reported. But eligibility extends far beyond one region. If an ancestor renounced their Canadian citizenship at any point, however, the chain of eligibility breaks.
Ottawa-based immigration consultant Cassandra Fultz told CTV News that demand for proof of citizenship “has exploded” since the bill passed.
She said her American caseload has increased tenfold, to about 100 applications a month.
Fultz, a dual American-Canadian citizen, said she has fielded inquiries from dissatisfied Americans after every U.S. election cycle, regardless of which party won. Previous waves always faded within weeks, but this one has not.
“There’s been a very steady increase in interest in moving to Canada since November 2024, which is unprecedented. I’ve never seen this in my 17 years in the industry,” she told CNN. “Usually people just get over it. But it’s already nearing the mid-terms and people are very interested, even two years later.”
Archives across Canada are feeling the pressure. Sarah Hanahem, an archivist at the National Library and Archives of Quebec, told CBC that requests for certified copies of vital records from Americans surged from 32 in January 2025 to more than 1,000 in January 2026. Archives in New Brunswick, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Ontario have also reported sizable increases.
The backlog is mounting. As of early March, about 48,000 people were waiting for a decision on citizenship certificate applications, with processing times running about 11 months, according to IRCC data cited by CBC.
Ellen Robillard, 52, a Democratic activist from a suburb of Rochester, New York, first considered applying after the 2016 election. Her mother was born in Nova Scotia, but Robillard shelved the idea after learning her son would not qualify under the old first-generation rule.
Now, with the restriction lifted, both are gathering documents.
Her son is now 19, and the revised law will allow her to pass on citizenship to him. “If things start deteriorating here with our economy, I know that I can just get in the car and go. It’s an option anyway,” she told CNN.
Robillard, who leads her local Democratic Committee, has received threats on social media and was once followed home after a protest.
“I really don’t recognize my world anymore,” she told CNN. A trip to Nova Scotia last year helped her reconnect with her mother’s homeland. “I felt like a different person there. It was so much less stressful. Everyone was nicer,” she said.
Fultz said many applicants are not planning an immediate move but want proof of citizenship as insurance. Not all applications stem from political anxiety. Common reasons include family reunification, employment, education and a desire to reconnect with one’s roots.
Still, the expansion has drawn criticism. On online forums, some Canadians argue the change favors Americans with few ties to the country while tax-paying immigrant families face lengthy naturalization processes. Others resent Canada being treated as a fallback.
Fultz countered that the legislation was introduced because Canadian courts found the previous rules unconstitutional and discriminatory. “This is a good thing for Canada, and a good thing for Canadians. These are quite literally our cousins. I just don’t see a downside,” she told CNN.
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