
Government receives fourth extension to fix unconstitutional ‘Lost Canadians’ issue
OTTAWA — The federal government has received a fourth extension to pass legislation to grant citizenship to “Lost Canadians” after the existing law was ruled unconstitutional.
“Lost Canadians” is a term applied to people who were born outside of the country to Canadian parents who were also born in another country.
In 2009, the Conservative federal government of the day changed the law so that Canadians who were born abroad could not pass down their citizenship unless their child was born in Canada.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in late 2023 that the law was unconstitutional and the government agreed with the ruling.