OTTAWA — The “Lost Canadians” legislation, which aims to fix Canada’s unconstitutional citizenship, received royal assent Thursday after being approved by the Senate on Wednesday.

The term “Lost Canadians” refers 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 changed the law so that Canadians born abroad could only pass down their citizenship if their child was born in Canada.

That was deemed unconstitutional by the Ontario Superior Court in December 2023.

The legislation proposes Canadian citizenship could be passed down to people born or adopted abroad, beyond the first generation, if the parents spent a cumulative three years in Canada before the child’s birth or adoption.

Saskat

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