In Depth
Lost Canadians
What was said
Viewpoints on those who have lost their right to be Canadian
Last Updated March 2007
CBC News
"Overhauling the act is a major, major effort and quite frankly, it's more than we could take on to help these people at this point in time."
— Diane Finley, citizenship and immigration minister
"[It] comes as quite a shock if you spent your whole life thinking of yourself as one way — Canadian — and then receive a letter saying [you're] not, [it] leaves you in odd limbo. If I’m not that, what am I?"
— demographer Barry Edmonston, who researched Canadians who could potentially lose their citizenship
"When Joe [Taylor, a Canadian war baby] arrived in Canada, he was welcomed, and now, 50 to 60 years later, we turn around and say you've outlived your welcome. That is incredibly mean-spirited."
— Donald Galloway, immigration law professor from the University of Victoria
"I'm a nobody, thank you. I am nothing. My life is nothing. It is stressful. I don’t know what to do."
— Barbara Porteous, who was born abroad and lost her citizenship as a result
"The onus of proof is on the people that are being stripped [of] Canadian citizenship, and until the act is fixed, these people are not Canadians."
— Bloc Québécois MP Meili Faille, a member of the Commons Citizenship and Immigration Committee
"I was born in Canada and my father, when I was a child, took out U.S. citizenship, so they took my birthright."
— Don Chapman, one of the original Lost Canadians
MENU
- 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)