Canada Sees Citizenship Surge from U.S., U.K., Mexico

0:00It's April 21st. Welcome to Canada News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Canada's immigration folks are seeing a big jump in citizenship applications lately, mostly from Americans cashing in on fresh rules. In January alone, they got 8,900 requests for proof of citizenship of almost 50% from 5,940 the year before. Nearly 28% or 2,470 came from the US. Way ahead of the UK, with 290 in Mexico at 2, 135. These changes stem from Bill C3, kicking in December 15th last year, which scraps the old first generation limit on passing citizenship. Abroad, from that day through January 31st, total apps hit 12,430. Out of 6,280 process for a descent claims, 1,480 got approved under the new setup with Americans, leading approvals at close to 2,500. The old rule from 2009 blocked kids born outside Canada from automatic citizenship

1:05if their Canadian parent was also born abroad. But last December 19th, an Ontario court called it unconstitutional and the feds didn't fight it, fixing a raw deal for 2nd gen Canadians. Now, folks born after December 15th, 2025, outside Canada, qualified if their parent also born abroad, spent at least 1000, 95 days or 3 years in Canada before birth. Same for adoptions, and it even restored citizenship retroactively from many pre-2026 cases. This Russian North bucks the global trend, where spots like Italy, Finland and Sweden are slamming the door harder with stricter residency and generational limits. If the new status ain't your vibe, you can even apply to renouncing.