Maple News reports that Canadians born abroad could soon benefit from expanded citizenship rights, as the House of Commons has voted to remove proposed restrictions from Bill C-3—legislation aimed at reforming the Citizenship Act.
On November 3, Members of Parliament voted 170 to 163 in favour of eliminating contentious amendments introduced during the bill’s second reading. These amendments had sought to tighten rules around citizenship by descent, potentially excluding many children of Canadian citizens—particularly those born or adopted abroad—from acquiring citizenship themselves.
Originally, Bill C-3 proposed a ‘substantial connection’ test requiring a Canadian parent to have spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before passing on citizenship to their foreign-born child. The removed amendments would have made this test more rigid by mandating that the 1,095 days occur within a single five-year period. They also would have introduced language and civic knowledge requirements, as well as security clearances for applicants aged 18 to 55.
The vote to drop these amendments was backed by the Liberal Party, New Democratic Party (NDP), and Green Party, while the Conservative Party and Bloc Québécois opposed the motion.
Bill C-3 is the federal government’s legislative response to a 2023 Ontario Superior Court ruling that found Canada’s existing first-generation limit (FGL) on citizenship by descent unconstitutional. The FGL, established in 2009, blocks children of Canadian citizens by descent—those who themselves were born abroad—from inheriting citizenship, essentially creating a citizenship cutoff after one generation.
If passed in its current form, Bill C-3 would modify the FGL to allow children of Canadian citizens by descent to obtain Canadian citizenship, provided their parent meets the substantial connection test. Additionally, the bill would retroactively restore citizenship to individuals known as “Lost Canadians,” who were stripped of or denied citizenship due to previous legal frameworks.
The bill has already cleared its second reading and now awaits a third reading in the House of Commons. From there, it must pass three readings in the Senate and receive royal assent before becoming law. The government aims to finalize the legislation by November 20, 2025, the court-imposed deadline for amending the Citizenship Act.
In the meantime, individuals currently affected by the FGL can apply for Canadian citizenship under interim measures that allow discretionary grants, rather than waiting for Bill C-3 to be enacted.