‘Lost Canadians’ can receive citizenship through interim rules as legislation delayed

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller listens to a reporter's question during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

OTTAWA -- Immigration Minister Marc Miller is giving so-called “lost Canadians” a chance to receive Canadian citizenship, now that court-mandated legislation will not be passed by the deadline.

“Lost Canadians” is a term applied to people who were born outside of the country to Canadian parents who were also born in another country.

In 2009, the Conservative federal government changed the law so that people who were born abroad could not pass down their citizenship unless their child was born in Canada.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in late 2023 that the law was unconstitutional and the government agreed with the ruling.

Since that ruling, the government has received three extensions to the deadline to pass legislation extending citizenship to those affected by the law.

Miller says the government is applying for a 12-month extension to the current March 19 deadline and allowing for “discretionary” citizenship grants for affected people and for potential “lost Canadians” who have a parent with citizenship who has spent at least three cumulative years in Canada.

By David Baxter, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2025.