Canada is asking some who received citizenship to surrender their certificates. Here’s why - CTV News

Michael had known for a while that his daughter wanted to move out of the country. Mina was 27 years old, worked as a data analyst in a district outside Detroit, and had spent most of a year talking about a job posting in Vancouver. The issue was the work permit.

Applications from people around the world seeking Canadian citizenship certificates have been rising rapidly in recent months, fuelled by thousands of applications from the United States, CBC News has learned. The number of people who have already received certificates as a result of Parliament’s adoption of “Lost Canadian” legislation late last year rose nearly 50 per cent between April 1 and May 31, according to new data obtained by CBC. Bill C-3 allows citizenship for those who can prove they're descended from a Canadian ancestor, even if that ancestor left the country several generations back. It was adopted after the courts ruled that limiting citizenship to the first generation born outside of Canada was too restrictive. Between mid-December — when Bill C-3 went into effect — and May 31, some 6,100 citizenship certificates were granted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to those who now qualify. That is up from 4,075 certificates issued as a result of Bill C-3 from mid-December until March 31. Another 17,390 people have received certificates as a result of having a Canadian parent.