Less than a year after Parliament granted Canadian citizenship recognition to individuals with Canadian ancestors, the backlog of citizenship certificate applications has reached a record high. Currently, over 136,000 applications are pending decision, with a significant portion from American applicants. The average waiting time for new applications is now estimated at 33 months, marking a 32% increase in processing time and an 11% rise in the number of applications since the last update in August.
Previously, in May 2025, before the implementation of Bill C-3, the processing time for citizenship certificate applications was only five months. Christine Beltempo, the chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s immigration section, expressed concerns over the substantial increase in processing times for these applications, attributing it to the expected surge in demand triggered by Bill C-3.
Beltempo emphasized the urgent need for additional resources to process the applications promptly, foreseeing a further rise in application volumes in the coming year. In response, IRCC spokesperson Briannah Dale highlighted that the prolonged processing times were influenced by multiple factors, not solely by Bill C-3.
The surge in applications following the enactment of Bill C-3 has inundated Canada’s archives with requests for documentation proving lineage to Canadian ancestors, even dating back several generations. Notably, statistics from IRCC revealed that a significant number of newly recognized Canadian citizens under Bill C-3 were born in the United States.
While social media speculation suggested that older Americans were seeking Canadian citizenship for benefits like universal healthcare, the data showed that only a small percentage of certificates were granted to individuals over 55 years old. The majority of certificates went to applicants under 14 years of age, possibly including babies born to Canadian parents abroad.
A citizenship certificate enables individuals to relocate to Canada and apply for a Canadian passport. However, it does not grant voting rights in Canadian elections unless the individual has resided in Canada at some point. Immigration lawyer Colin Singer warned that the delays in processing applications could lead to legal challenges, potentially violating constitutional rights.
NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan urged the government to allocate sufficient resources to address the growing crisis in citizenship application processing. She criticized the government for planning to cut 3,300 positions by 2028-29, emphasizing the detrimental impact on families and individuals awaiting citizenship recognition.
Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner criticized the government for failing to adequately prepare for the surge in citizenship applications by descent, highlighting the need for effective processes to manage the backlog efficiently. Rempel Garner cautioned against mass approvals of the pending applications as a solution to the backlog issue.
