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Mark Carney won the Canadian election to retain power as prime minister.
A change to Canada’s Citizenship Act has Americans with family ties north of the border checking to see if they qualify for a new passport.
The renewed interest follows a recent update to the law that expands who can claim citizenship by descent, easing generational cutoffs that had blocked eligibility for decades. As a result, many Americans with Canadian parents or grandparents are now double-checking birth certificates, census data and old records to see if they qualify.
To qualify, applicants must be “grandfathered” in, meaning their parent must already be considered a Canadian citizen by descent, Audrey Macklin, a law professor at the University of Toronto, told USA TODAY.Here’s what to know about obtaining Canadian citizenship and the new rules.
Do I qualify for Canadian citizenship under the new law?
The change only applies to people born before Dec. 15, 2025. Going forward, Canadian parents of children born or adopted abroad beyond the first generation must have lived in Canada for at least three years before the child’s birth or adoption for citizenship to pass on, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
You may qualify for Canadian citizenship by descent if:
- You were born before Dec. 15, 2025
- At least one of your parents is considered a Canadian citizen by descent
- You can document your family connection to Canada with official records
You likely do not qualify if:
- Your parent is not recognized as a Canadian citizen by descent
- You were born after Dec. 15, 2025 and your Canadian parent did not live in Canada for at least three years before your birth or adoption
What proof is required?
Applicants typically must provide birth, marriage and death certificates, along with immigration or census records showing a direct line to a Canadian‑born ancestor.
Important to know:
Eligibility does not guarantee approval. Experts say the process can be document‑heavy and time‑consuming, with citizenship applications taking months to process.
Applications for Canadian citizenship rising. But there are hurdles.
In an email to USA TODAY, the IRCC said the agency received about 12,430 proof of citizenship applications between Dec. 15 and Jan. 31 from people around the world. Nearly 3,000 of the individuals applying were confirmed to be Canadian citizens as a result of the new law.
Proving citizenship by descent, however, can be a “bureaucratic nightmare,” said Macklin, depending on how far back applicants must trace their lineage.
Even after submitting paperwork, applicants face long waits. The estimated processing time for citizenship applications is about 10 months, according to the IRCC.
Tracking genealogical records
The Canadian government is pointing would‑be applicants to genealogical resources as demand surges.
Library and Archives Canada holds census records and limited collections of birth, marriage, death and immigration documents — materials that are often critical to citizenship applications because they can confirm whether an ancestor was born in Canada.For people struggling to locate records, the agency also offers access to research specialists who can help with searches or refer applicants to other archives that may hold relevant documents, some dating back centuries.That demand is rising fast. Meghan Laidlaw, acting director of client services at Library and Archives Canada, said online searches for records have jumped sharply since the law changed. In the final three months of 2025, the library averaged about 12,000 hits a day.
That number has since risen to 60,000.
While a significant portion of the library’s genealogical records are available online and in person, Laidlaw cautioned that applicants shouldn’t expect to find everything they need in one place.
“We’ll try to help make the process as easy as possible, but that can be sometimes frustrating if someone comes and expects to find everything here,” she said.
For Americans chasing a Canadian passport, the rules may have loosened but the red tape hasn’t.
Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected]
