In Depth
Lost Canadians
Old act oddities mean citizenship can slip away
Last Updated March 2007
CBC News
For people born abroad before the current Citizenship Act was passed, the 1947 act, not the current one, applies to their cases. And experts in citizenship law say that act enacted 60 years ago is filled with anomalies that can strip people of citizenship, through no fault of their own.
Barb Porteous was born in the U.S. before 1977, and was out of the country on her 24th birthday. That meant that she lost her right to be a Canadian, under the current rules. She has since been told she can apply for a grant of citizenship. (CBC)
The story of Barbara Porteous of Osoyoos, B.C., is one such case. Her father is a Canadian, but Porteous was born just across the border while her parents were working in the United States. It's common for that to happen in that region, where workers routinely laboured in the fruit orchards on both sides of the U.S.-Canada line. About 10,000 Canadians reported in the last census that they were born in the United States before 1977, but claim Canadian citizenship. Another 22,000 were born in other countries.
Porteous moved back to Canada as a teenager and her citizenship was confirmed. She married, raised kids, ran a business and worked for Elections Canada. But in 2006, when Porteous applied for her passport, she received instead a letter stating she is no longer Canadian. Some people born abroad lose citizenship if their parents filled out the wrong form at birth. Porteous's parents filled out the right form.
However, under the act of the time, anyone born abroad, who is also living outside the country on his or her 24th birthday, automatically loses citizenship. In Porteous's case, she had gone to the United States six months before her 24th birthday to help a relative run a resort. Other than that, she has lived all her life in Canada. Normally, Porteous would have to leave the country and apply to immigrate to Canada, a process that could take more than three years.
After CBC told Porteous's story, she was contacted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and told she could apply for a grant of citizenship, within eight months.
| Province | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 298 |
| P.E.I. | 299 |
| Nova Scotia | 3,771 |
| New Brunswick | 2,552 |
| Quebec | 10,733 |
| Ontario | 28,944 |
| Manitoba | 2,921 |
| Saskatchewan | 1,819 |
| Alberta | 9,556 |
| British Columbia | 14,576 |
| Yukon, N.W.T., Nunavut | 298 |
| Total | 75,767 |
|
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. Although we have written about pre-1977 and post-1977 Born Abroad babies separately, demographer Barry Edmonston created a single chart containing the combined total of both 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
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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)