March 2025

In 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that a section of the Canadian Citizenship Act was unconstitutional.  The section barred the descendants of some Canadian citizens from acquiring citizenship. Enacted in 2009, it limited the ability to pass citizenship by descent to the first generation born outside of Canada. This meant that a child born outside of Canada to a Canadian parent could obtain a citizenship certificate, but their children, the grandchildren of the Canadian parent, could not. The 2009 amendments also restored citizenship to individuals born in Canada who had lost their status due to the impact of older Canadian citizenship laws, such as those who had acquired citizenship in another country and subsequently lost their Canadian citizenship. However, only the children of these ‘Lost Canadians’ could obtain a citizenship certificate; subsequent generations could not.

The Canadian government decided that rather than appealing the court judgment, it would amend the Citizenship Act to bring it into compliance with the Constitution. Bill C-71, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act (2024), was intended to address the problematic issues with the law. However, political shenanigans have delayed the passage of the Bill, requiring the government to ask the court for extensions of time to bring the Bill into law. The most recent extension is until April 25, 2025.

Bill C-71 would amend the Citizenship Act by establishing a test of “substantial connection” to Canada, allowing Canadian parents born outside of Canada to pass on their Canadian citizenship to their foreign-born child if they had spent at least three years physically residing in Canada before their birth.

On March 13, 2025, then-Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller announced an interim measure for individuals impacted by the delay in enacting the Bill. The interim measures enable individuals affected by the “first-generation limit” to be considered for a discretionary grant of citizenship. If you belong to the following groups, which were previously barred by the ‘first-generation limit’ to receive citizenship by descent, you are now offered consideration for a discretionary grant of citizenship:

• You were born or adopted before December 19, 2023 and are currently subject to the first-generation limit
• If you were born or adopted on or after December 19, 2023, and your Canadian parent had at least 1,095 cumulative days of physical presence in Canada before your birth or adoption, you will be offered consideration for a discretionary grant on a prioritized basis
• Certain individuals born before April 1, 1949, who remain affected by the first-generation limit
• You lost your citizenship under the former Section 8 of the Citizenship Act due to unmet retention requirements

 

Like many of my colleagues, I am seeing a surge of interest from American citizens interested in moving to Canada or, if they are already living here, in applying for citizenship. However, immigration to Canada is highly competitive, and many applicants will not be selected. Obtaining citizenship by descent is a way for Americans with ancestors who were born in Canada to avoid the competitive immigration process. Once in possession of a Canadian citizenship certificate, the individual can sponsor their spouse and dependent children, and the entire family could move to Canada once the applications are processed. In rare cases, the Canadian ancestor may have made a formal declaration of alienage, thereby renouncing their Canadian citizenship. If so, their ancestors would not be entitled to Canadian citizenship. Unfortunately, unless records were passed down through the family, the only way to know if this applies is to apply for a citizenship certificate. Historical records are searched as part of the application processing, and the issue would likely arise during this search.

February 2025

The Government of Canada launched two new pilots on January 30, 2025: the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP). These two programs are launched against the context of the unique labour market and demographic challenges faced by the rural and Francophone minority communities in Canada.

Goal of RCIP and FCIP

Encouraged by the success of the Rural and Northern immigration Pilot (RNIP), these programs aim to attract and retain newcomers by providing individuals destined to live in rural and francophone communities with a permanent residence pathway. The goal is to have the newcomers settle long-term and fill key jobs that would help the rural and Francophone minority communities develop their economy and increase their demographic weight.

Who can apply

There are presently a total of 18 communities participating in the programs. The list of the communities can be found on the IRCC website.

To qualify, you must:

1. Have a valid job offer from a designated employer in the community
2. Have at least 1 year (1,560 hours) of related work experience in the past 3 years
   • Note: You may be exempted if you studied and graduated in the community (see if you are exempted)
3. Prove your language abilities by taking an approved test
   • English: CELPIP, IELTS, PTE
   • French: TEF Canada, ECF Canada
4. Have a Canadian educational credential or foreign equivalent

• Education in Canada:
  • (1) Canadian secondary school diploma OR
  • (2) recognized Canadian post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree from a designated learning institution
• Education outside of Canada: An educational credential assessment (ECA) report from a designated organization or professional body that
  • is less than 5 years old on the date you apply, and
  • shows you completed a foreign credential equal to
    • (1) a Canadian secondary school diploma, OR
    • (2) Canadian post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree

5. Prove you have enough money to support your transition and your family’s transition into the community
   • See proof of funds and how much money you need

You do not have to be in Canada to apply. In addition, you may be eligible to get a work permit while you wait for the permanent residence application to be processed. You will need a job offer from a designated employer and a referral letter from your participating community.

• See work permit for RCIP
• See work permit for FCIP

How many people will benefit from this program?

IRCC states that these new pilot programs are an effort to continue the success of the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP), which was introduced in 2019 and ended in 2024, while they work on creating a permanent program. IRCC offers statistics for the RNIP that are insightful in speculating on the success of the new programs:

• As of December 31, 2024, 8,580 newcomers have been granted permanent residence through the RNIP, helping address labour shortages in key health care and manufacturing sectors.
• Preliminary findings suggest strong retention in RNIP communities. In October 2022, 87% of RNIP newcomer survey respondents stated that they stayed and planned to stay in their RNIP communities.

There are differences between the new programs and RNIP. The main difference is the inclusion of new Francophone communities—a measure reflective of IRCC’s aim to enhance the long-term vitality and prosperity of Francophone and Acadian minority communities. Thus, traditional Francophone communities, including part of the Acadian Peninsula, Sudbury, Timmins, and St. Pierre Jolys, are participating in the Welcoming Francophone Communities initiative that helps them settle and integrate French-speaking newcomers who arrive in their communities under FCIP.

It is important to note that the process of the new pilots is more employer-driven, as interested employers must undergo an employer designation process. A permanent residence applicant must obtain an offer from a designated employer who has completed this process.

Why Kelowna?

Kelowna is one of the communities included to participate in the FCIP. However, there is no significant French-speaking population in this region. According to Statistics Canada, only 6.7% of the Kelowna population spoke both English and French, and only 1.9% have French as their  mother tongue.

One can only speculate why Kelowna was chosen to participate in the pilot program, which aimed at increasing the number of French-speaking newcomers settling in Francophone communities outside of Quebec. However, a quick look into the history of Kelowna may provide  a clue. Kelowna’s European population began with a French root in the 19^th century. The first European settler was a French Catholic priest known as Father Pandosy, whose settlement attracted many other European settlers to the area.

Canada has a Policy on Francophone Immigration, which mainly aims to “restore” the demographic weight of Francophone and Acadian communities. It seems that IRCC’s goal of increasing Francophone immigration has a very specific intention—develop the Francophone minority communities to enhance the overall vitality of the French language. This means identifying the historically significant Francophone communities outside of Quebec that risk distinction, such as Kelowna.

January 2025

On January 4^th, the Canadian government posted new Ministerial Instructions regarding the Parent and Grandparent Program. The program is paused for 2025 until further Instructions are issued.

There will also be processing delays for applications submitted in 2024. IRCC will only process 15,000 applications this year, with the remainder to be processed in the following year(s). 35,700 sponsors were invited to submit applications in 2024. Though the application deadline was August 2, 2024, IRCC has not stated how many sponsors submitted applications. Applications will be processed in the order they were submitted.  For those not processed in 2025, processing times will jump, but by how much will depend on how many applications were submitted, how many applications were returned for being ‘incomplete,’ and how many applications IRCC will process in 2026 and possibly 2027 if there are still applications outstanding at the end of 2026. The current processing time listed on the IRCC website is 24 months, which likely does not reflect the recent announcement. Further, IRCC has not published the number of applications currently backlogged; outstanding applications from 2023 or earlier must also be considered when attempting to predict processing times for 2024 applications. The 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan has a target of 24,500 individuals to be accepted through the Parent and Grandparent Program in 2025.

December 2024

Dana, my favourite instructor at my gym, seemed a little distracted. We were supposed to be doing hamstring curls, but she had us doing leg lifts. Syrian music, which she’s incorporated into her playlist, kept us on time as she realized her mistake and had us switch exercises. After class, she admitted that the music had made her emotional. ‘I have a country!’ she told me.