The number of Americans applying for Canadian citizenship soared since Ottawa relaxed the rules for naturalization by descent.
Thousands of US citizens are now digging up family records and genealogical trees in search of a Canadian-born ancestor.
It is a treasure in the heart of Montréal. Within the walls of the Québec national archives, silence reflects the solemnity of the place. The memory of the Canadian province is kept here: old maps, parish registers, legal documents and private correspondence tell the story of Québec since the earliest days of French presence in North America. The smell of old books lingers in one of the archive rooms, where everything is carefully arranged on shelves, protected from time and outside light.
For several months now, what is usually a tranquil atmosphere has given way to a certain buzz behind the scenes. The center has been inundated with requests from American citizens. “They come looking for proof of a Canadian ancestor,” explained archivist Sarah Hanahem as she carefully turned the pages of a register from the year 1900, wearing white gloves. Her team has received more than 12,000 requests since January, compared to 520 during the same period in 2025: a 2,000% surge. To handle the influx, about 10 people had to be hired and assigned to various branches throughout Québec.
Everything sped up after a federal law, passed in December 2025, loosened the criteria for acquiring Canadian citizenship by descent. Before then, a person born abroad could generally only obtain citizenship by descent with a direct parent who was Canadian. In 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled this “first-generation limit” to be unconstitutional. The federal government was therefore forced to revise its legislation, paving the way for retroactive recognition of citizenship for people with Canadian lineage born abroad.