Canadian citizenship has been extended to remaining “Lost Canadians” who were born before the first Canadian Citizenship Act took effect in 1947, as well as to their children who were born outside Canada in the first generation.
On January 1, 1947, the first Canadian Citizenship Act came into effect. Before that date, a person who was born or naturalized in Canada was considered a British subject. The Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947 established who was, and who could become, a Canadian citizen.
In 2009, the Government of Canada implemented changes that restored or gave citizenship to the vast majority of people who had lost it or never received it due to outdated legislation—including to some born before 1947. Yet a small number of “Lost Canadians,” such as some first generation children born abroad to war brides and service men, were still not eligible for Canadian citizenship.
With this last round of changes to the Citizenship Act coming into force June 11, 2015, individuals who were born or naturalized in Canada, as well as those who were British subjects residing in Canada on January 1, 1947 (or April 1, 1949, in the case of Newfoundland and Labrador) but who were not eligible for Canadian citizenship when the first Canadian Citizenship Act took effect, will now automatically be considered Canadian citizens. Citizenship is recognized retroactively back to January 1, 1947 (or April 1, 1949, in the case of Newfoundland and Labrador).
The changes also retroactively give Canadian citizenship to the children of these “Lost Canadians” who were born abroad in the first generation. Additionally, citizenship is extended to persons born abroad in the first generation to a parent who became a citizen when the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947 took effect but who, as a result of former legislation, did not themselves become citizens on that date. Citizenship is recognized back to January 1, 1947 (or April 1, 1949, in the case of Newfoundland and Labrador), or to the child’s date of birth if they were born after January 1, 1947 (or April 1, 1949, for Newfoundland and Labrador).
