Immigration Minister Lena Diab says people seeking Canadian citizenship by descent must prove their connection to Canada through each generation and that genealogy websites alone are not sufficient evidence.
Diab made the comments June 16 during Question Period in the House of Commons, when asked how many individuals had been given Canadian citizenship using inaccurate documents under a law passed last year that lets some people born before Dec. 15, 2025, obtain Canadian citizenship by descent if they can document a chain of descent to a Canadian citizen.
For those born after the law came into force, citizenship by descent can also extend beyond the first generation if the Canadian parent had a substantial connection to Canada, according to the text of Bill C-3, an Act to Amend the Citizenship Act….