A major court decision rendered on November 20, 2025, promises to dramatically reshape how Canadian citizenship is passed down through generations.
In December 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released a landmark decision, Bjorkquist v. Canada (2023 ONSC 7152), striking down Canada’s ‘first-generation limit.’
Since 2009, this rule had blocked many Canadians born abroad from passing their citizenship to children who were also born outside Canada.
The Court found that the rule violated the equality guarantees of Section 15 and the mobility rights in Section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and ordered the federal government to fix the law by January 2026.
After an earlier reform bill died when Parliament was prorogued, the newly elected government introduced Bill C-3 (An Act to amend the Citizenship Act) in June 2025. The bill passed into law on November 20, and brings sweeping changes aimed directly at correcting the constitutional problems identified in the Bjorkquist case.
Under Bill C-3, the first-generation limit is completely repealed. Canadians may once again pass citizenship to children born abroad if they have spent three years (1,095 days) in Canada before the child’s birth or adoption.
The new law also reopens the door for thousands of people excluded under the old rules. It restores citizenship to so-called ‘Lost Canadians’ and extends that restoration to their descendants. Anyone born before the law takes effect can claim citizenship if they can show lineage to a Canadian-born parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent.
Applications under the new rules will begin once the government finalizes forms and implementation procedures. For many families separated by the old law, Bill C-3 marks the most significant expansion of citizenship rights in more than a decade.
Montreal-based law firm Gomberg Dalfen welcomed last week’s passage of Bill C-3 and sent out a news release explaining the changes to the law. Anyone born outside Canada “who had a Canadian parent, grandparent, great-grandparent or great-great-grandparent . . . may now be entitled to obtain a certificate of Canadian citizenship,” lawyer Avi Gomberg explained.
He added that the firm “remains available to address any question, concern or mandate you may have.” For further information, please write to agomberg@gombergdalfen.ca ♦
