Since 1947, the Canadian Citizenship Act has set out the laws that determine eligibility for Canadian citizenship. Throughout the Act’s various enactments, the Canadian government has recognised the right to citizenship by descent, meaning the right for a Canadian citizen to pass on his/her citizenship status to his/her child born outside of Canada. Citizenship by descent is a commonly recognised path to citizenship in many countries. Canada has recently changed its approach to citizenship by descent and has imposed a one-generation rule. This article examines the history of citizenship by descent, the current regime governing this type of citizenship acquisition and then examines how these laws comply with Canada’s international legal obligations and the rule of law. Ultimately, the article argues that Canada’s new approach to citizenship by descent has the potential to render children stateless, thus violating international law and the rule of law.

Mariette Brennan and Miriam Cohen, Citizenship by descent: how Canada’s one-generation rule fails to comply with international legal norms, The International Journal of Human Rights, 2018