Canadian Archives See Surge of US Genealogy Requests After Citizenship Law Change

A surge of Americans is delving into centuries-old family histories in an effort to claim Canadian citizenship following recent changes to Canada’s citizenship laws. The amendments, which took effect in December, remove a previous restriction that limited citizenship by descent to the first generation born abroad.

The legal shift has triggered an unprecedented wave of requests to Canadian archives as U.S. citizens seek official documents to prove ancestral links, some dating back to the 1700s. Archivists report being overwhelmed by the volume of inquiries. In Quebec, officials received approximately 1,700 requests in April alone, a figure more than twelve times higher than the same period last year. In New Brunswick, monthly genealogical requests have jumped from about 100-150 to between 300 and 400, with a backlog of 1,700 applications. Archivists attribute the surge directly to the law change and note that processing all requests will require patience due to current resource constraints.

The theory pursued by many applicants is that the changes, enacted through Bill C-3, mean citizenship can be passed down automatically through any number of generations born outside Canada,...