Who we help
Our clients are usually Americans with a Canadian-born parent, grandparent or great-grandparent. Many have a family story, an old photo or a name on a census, but not the paper trail an application needs.
You're in the right place if:
- You know a relative was born in Canada but can't find their birth or baptism record.
- Your family moved from Quebec, Ontario or the Maritimes to New England, New York or the Midwest.
- A surname changed along the way, like Leblanc becoming White.
- Your Canadian ancestor is three or four generations back.
- You started an application and got stuck on a missing document.
What changed in December 2025
On December 15, 2025, Canada's Bill C-3 took effect. It removed the "first-generation limit" that used to cut off citizenship by descent after one generation born outside Canada.
In plain terms: if you were born outside Canada before December 15, 2025, to a Canadian parent, you are in most cases already a Canadian citizen. That can be true even if your parent, and their parent, were also born outside Canada. The citizenship passes down the line, generation by generation, as long as each link holds. So the question is not only whether the rule applies, but whether you can prove the chain. (IRCC: Change to citizenship rules in 2025)
To confirm it, you apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for a citizenship certificate. That certificate is what lets you apply for a Canadian passport.
The response has been huge, especially from Americans. CBC News reports that 6,635 people received citizenship certificates under Bill C-3 between December 15, 2025 and June 30, 2026, and more than half were born in the United States. Archives on both sides of the border are now backlogged with requests for the old records these applications depend on. (CBC News)
That backlog is why you should start early. Know exactly which records you need before you request them.
What you have to prove: an unbroken chain
Your application rests on a record chain running from your Canadian ancestor down to you. Each record must show two things: who the parent was and that the parent was a Canadian citizen when the child was born. In other words, every record has to connect cleanly to the next.
A typical four-generation chain looks like this:
- 1Great-grandparent, born in CanadaCanadian birth or baptism record, census entry
- 2Grandparent, born in the USBirth certificate naming the Canadian parent
- 3Parent, born in the USBirth certificate naming the grandparent
- 4YouYour birth certificate naming your parent
Marriage records often fill the gaps, especially where a name changed. When one link is missing or a record names the wrong person, the whole chain stops there.
Where applications get stuck
Documents matter. In June 2026, IRCC asked some people to return certificates it had already issued under Bill C-3 while it reviewed the records behind their applications. IRCC later said about 1% of certificate holders were affected. (CBC News)
These are the problems we see most:
- No birth record for the Canadian ancestor. Civil registration started late in much of Canada. Church baptisms, census returns and border or ship records often have to stand in.
- Records in French. Quebec and Acadian records are mostly Catholic parish registers written in French, sometimes in Latin.
- Changed or anglicized names. Boucher became Bush. Leblanc became White. Proving they're the same person takes supporting records.
- Ancestors born before 1947. Canada's first Citizenship Act took effect on January 1, 1947. Earlier generations are assessed under older rules, so where and when they lived matters.
- Long chains. Three, four or more generations means more records to find and more places for the chain to break.
- Knowing what counts. Not every document carries the same weight.
We research and document your family line, but we don't give legal advice or decide eligibility. For complex cases, we recommend working with a Canadian immigration lawyer or a regulated consultant (RCIC) alongside us.
Where did your Canadian ancestor live?
The records you need depend on the province and sometimes the church your ancestor belonged to. So pick the region that fits your family:
- Quebec: Catholic parish registers going back to the 1600s, notarial records and French-language census entries. The most common starting point for New England families.
- Ontario: Provincial birth, marriage and death registration from 1869, plus church records and census returns.
- The Maritimes: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, including Acadian families who settled in Maine and Louisiana.
- Western Canada: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, including homestead files and later census records.
The national census is often the first place to confirm an ancestor lived in Canada. From there, Library and Archives Canada has digitized census returns through 1931, searchable free online.
How we help
We research so you can apply with confidence. Here's how we help:
- Free consultation. Tell us what you know: names, places, dates, family stories. We'll tell you how long the record chain looks and where the hard parts are likely to be.
- Research plan and estimate. You get a clear plan and an hour estimate before any billable work starts.
- Records search. We work through Canadian and US archives, parish registers, census returns and vital records to find each link.
- Record requests. We tell you exactly which certified copies to order and from where, so you don't waste months on the wrong request.
- Your lineage package. An organized, generation-by-generation summary of your line, with every supporting record listed and explained in the chain.
Pricing: $80 USD per hour. Most projects take 10–40 hours, depending on how many generations back your Canadian ancestor is and how many records are missing.
What we don't do: We don't submit your application or give legal advice. If you want help with the application itself, we can recommend a Canadian immigration lawyer or regulated consultant.