Canada in the 1940s and 1950s was a very different place. There was no public health care, and travel in rural areas was much more difficult because of poor roads and inadequate public transit.
In those days, it was not uncommon for Canadian mothers to cross the border and have their children in American hospitals.
That was the case for the Clark family who lived on a farm in southern Manitoba. All of the Clark children were born in a U.S. hospital in Westhope, North Dakota. Other than that, all the Clark children have lived their entire lives in Canada.
But the federal government says the Clarks did not fill out the right form to register the children as Canadian, and that has put the entire family's citizenship at risk.
It's a particularly big problem for Robert Gene Clark. The 59-year-old man was convicted of drug smuggling and completed his sentence in February 2007.
Ottawa says that because Clark was born in the U.S., he is not a Canadian citizen. The public safety minister is currently trying to deport Clark, but he is fighting the order in federal court.
Where the hospitals are
While many Canadians might not sympathize with a convicted drug smuggler, the case is affecting many other people who have no criminal record, especially Clark's own brothers and sister.
Mallo Clark found out his citizenship was at risk when he applied for a passport. "I went to get a passport, and no such luck because I have a U.S. birth certificate," he told CBC. "You can't get a Canadian passport on a U.S. birth certificate. I can get a U.S. passport, but don't want one, thank you."
All of the Clarks were told they're not Canadian, even though the family has lived in Lyleton, Man. since 1899, and in Ontario before that. And they are not alone.
Using U.S. and Canadian census data, demographer Barry Edmonston found there are at least 10,000 border babies currently living in Canada.
The real figure may be much higher, according to experts in citizenship issues. The reason is that when asked by census takers where they were born, many of the border babies gave their place of birth as Canada, even though they were born in the States.
Bloc Québécois MP Meili Faille, a long-time member of the standing committee on citizenship and immigration, says Quebecers traditionally determined their place of birth by using their baptismal certificates.
"But [Citizenship and Immigration Canada] no longer accepts these certificates as proof of your citizenship," says Faille. "So now, we've got this ridiculous situation where CIC is telling people, Quebecois who have lived here for generations, that they are not Canadian? It's ridiculous."
Faille says there could be tens of thousands of border babies in Quebec alone. In January, she said two people per week were calling the Bloc over issues with their citizenship.
As for the Clarks, shortly after CBC aired their story, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley issued Mallo and Claire a grant of citizenship. They became Canadians in February 2007. Their brother, Robert Gene, is still waiting to see if he'll be given the same status, or if he'll be deported by the federal government.
| Province | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 112 |
| P.E.I. | 37 |
| Nova Scotia | 443 |
| New Brunswick | 592 |
| Quebec | 1,738 |
| Ontario | 3,476 |
| Manitoba | 367 |
| Saskatchewan | 338 |
| Alberta | 957 |
| British Columbia | 1,884 |
| Yukon, N.W.T., Nunavut | 38 |
| Total | 9,982 |
|
Source: Demographer Barry Edmonston This chart displays information for those living in Canada. In addition, there are several groups that include people living outside of Canada, including the Chattel Children, Military Brats and Illegitimate Canadians. Because of that, we did not include charts for those three groups. | |
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- Main page
- The Chattel Children: up to 20,000 in Canada, 85,000 living in the U.S.
- Border Babies: minimum 10,000 in Canada
- War Brides: potentially 25-35,000 in Canada
- War Babies: Between 6,000 and 20,000 living in Canada
- Born-Abroad Babies pre-1977: up to 32,000
- Born-Abroad Babies post-1977: up to 42,000
- Illegitimate Canadians: up to 30,000 Mennonite Canadians
- Military Brats: 110,000, mostly in Canada
- Documents
- Multimedia
- CBC coverage
- Viewpoints
- Links
CBC Media
- Paul Hunter reports on lost Canadians for the National (runs 2:55)
- Gary Symons reports on war babies for the World at Six (runs 4:16)