Questions and responses 45th Parliament, 1st session May 26, 2025, to present

With regard to applications affected by An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), S.C. 2025, c. 5, and broken down by calendar month, and separately for the periods November 20, 2025, to December 14, 2025, and December 15, 2025 to the date the response is prepared: (a) how many applications for citizenship were received in which the applicant’s claim to citizenship was assessed, or ultimately assessed, under paragraph 3(1)(b) and the substantial-connection framework in subsection 3(3) of the Citizenship Act; (b) of the applications in (a), how many were (i) approved, (ii) refused, (iii) withdrawn, (iv) abandoned, (v) pending at the end of each month; (c) of the applications in (a), what was the applicant’s country of birth, by count; (d) of the applications in (a), what other citizenship or citizenships were declared by applicants in those files, by count; (e) in how many applications in (a) did the department determine that the relevant Canadian parent satisfied the 1,095-day physical presence requirement, and what categories of evidence were accepted for that purpose, broken down by evidence category and count; (f) in how many applications in (a) did the department request additional information or documents to establish the parent’s physical presence in Canada, and what were the 10 most common evidentiary deficiencies identified, by count; (g) of the refusals in (b)(ii), what were the reasons for refusal, broken down by category and count, including, but not limited to, (i) insufficient evidence of the parent’s physical presence in Canada, (ii) parent not a citizen at the relevant time, (iii) applicant not captured by paragraph 3(1)(b), (iv) insufficient proof of parentage, (v) missing or inconsistent identity or civil-status documents, (vi) any other reason; and (h) how many applications received before December 15, 2025, were processed under any interim measure relating to the first-generation limit and later finalized after December 15, 2025, and what were the outcomes of those applications?

With regard to applications for citizenship processed by the government since January 1, 2019, and broken down by year: (a) how many applications have been (i) received, (ii) approved, (iii) denied, (iv) received and are still awaiting a decision; (b) how many applications involving individuals with a criminal record were (i) received, (ii) approved, (iii) denied, (iv) received but are still awaiting a decision; (c) of the applications in (b)(iii), what is the breakdown by type of crime which the government determined was severe enough to deny citizenship; (d) of the applications in (b)(ii), what is the breakdown by type of crime which the government determined was not severe enough to deny citizenship; and (e) what criteria is used by the government to determine which crimes committed in Canada by non-citizens disqualify someone from obtaining future citizenship?

With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, since December 15, 2025, and broken down by country of origin: (a) how many citizenship applications were approved, broken down by (i) applicant citing Canadian ancestor of one generation, (ii) applicant citing Canadian ancestor of two generations, (iii) applicant citing Canadian ancestor of three generations, (iv) applicant citing Canadian ancestor of four generations, (v) applicant citing Canadian ancestor of five generations or more; and (b) how many citizenship applications have been approved in total, by way of citizenship by descent?

With regard to Canadian citizenship applications under the Citizenship Act: (a) how many citizenship applications have been approved or have been received but are awaiting a decision for each year since 2023, for applicants who made applications on the basis of citizenship by descent, reported by month; (b) of those applications approved or that have been received but are awaiting a decision reported in (a), how many were or are based on (i) a Canadian parent (applicant first generation born abroad), as defined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, (ii) a Canadian grandparent (applicant second generation born abroad), (iii) a Canadian great-grandparent (applicant third generation born abroad), (iv) a Canadian ancestor (applicant fourth generation born abroad), (v) a Canadian ancestor (applicant fifth generation born abroad), (vi) a Canadian ancestor (applicant greater than fifth generation born abroad); (c) of the applications approved or awaiting a decision reported in (a), how many are from persons with existing citizenships, and, for those persons with existing citizenships, from which countries do they have existing citizenship; (d) for the applications reported in (a), what criteria, including evidentiary standards, does the government use to verify each generational link, including cases where civil birth records are missing and alternative evidence is accepted (for example, baptismal records, census records, naturalization documents) as permitted under Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada guidance; (e) of the applications approved or which are awaiting a decision in (a), how many citizenships were granted or were accepted for consideration as a result of the removal of the former first generation cut-off rule, which was removed when Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), received Royal Assent on November 20, 2025; (f) what assessments or internal analyses did the government conduct regarding granting citizenship to applicants whose connection to Canada is considered attenuated or distant, and does the government track such cases by degree or number of generations; and (g) what steps has the government taken to ensure that applicants relying on multigenerational chains of descent satisfy the new statutory requirement for a meaningful connection to Canada?

With regard to correspondence, both traditional and electronic, and including all forms (emails, letters, website feedback, direct messaging through applications, etc.) received by the government regarding citizenship ceremonies, since January 1, 2025: (a) how many correspondence items were received by (i) the Prime Minister, the Office of the Prime Minister or the Privy Council Office, (ii) the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the minister's office or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; (b) of the correspondence in (a), how many items received were about virtual citizenship ceremonies, or a similar topic, further broken down by those in favour of keeping the virtual citizenship oath or ceremony, and those in favour of getting rid of the virtual citizenship oath or ceremony; and (c) what is the breakdown of (b) by manner in which the correspondence was received (emails, letters, website feedback, direct messaging through applications, etc.)?