It’s easier than ever to become a Canadian citizen

Canada is experiencing a surge of interest in family records among Americans with Canadian ancestry, in part due to a change in the law that makes it easier for descendants to obtain citizenship.Under Canada’s newly implemented law, any person born prior to December 15, 2025, outside of Canada, who proves they are descendants of a Canadian, can become a citizen. Previously, citizenship was limited to first-generation children of a Canadian parent.As a result, there has been a massive increase in record requests from Americans, an archivist with the National Library and Archives of Quebec told CBC last month. Canada’s immigration and citizenship website estimates a 10-month wait period for citizenship certificates.While some of that interest may be motivated by Canadian descendants hoping to reconnect with their roots, some of it is also attributed to Americans seeking a different political climate after the 2024 presidential election.“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,” Ottawa-based regulated immigration consultant Cassandra Fultz told CNN.A Canadian archivist said there has been a 3,000 percent increase in records requests - mainly coming from Americans (Getty Images)Fultz told the network that interest in Canadian citizenship surges after every U.S. election, regardless of the party elected.“Usually people just get over it,” Fultz said. “But it’s already nearing the midterms and people are very interested, even two years later.”While official data on the number of U.S. citizens granted Canadian citizenship is unavailable, roughly 34,700 Americans were granted permanent residence in Canada between 2016 and 2020, and 42,300 between 2021 and 2024. So far this year, about 8,000 have been granted permanent residence. Outside of Canada, the U.S. is home to the largest number of Canadian citizens by descent. Nearly one-third of people who are Canadian citizens because their parents are Canadian are born in the U.S.An expert said that the interest in obtaining Canadian citizenship surges after every U.S. election, regardless of who wins (AP)Now, with the change of law in place, more U.S.-born people of Canadian descent want to prove their ancestry.“In January 2025, we had 32 requests for certified copies of vital records, and this year in January 2026, we've had over 1,000,” Sarah Hanahem, with the National Library and Archives of Quebec, told CBC. Hanahem said most of those inquiries were from Americans. Those with Canadian ancestry, born after December 15, 2025, can still obtain Canadian citizenship, provided their parent was a Canadian citizen at the time of birth or spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before birth.The new law was adopted after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that the first-generation rule was unconstitutional in 2023.