March 27, 2018 – Tightening of Canadian citizenship requirements under the previous Conservative government saw a smaller percentage of immigrants become citizens, new figures show.
Canadian census data reveals the rate of naturalization fell from 85.6 per cent to 82.7 per cent between 2011 and 2016, as people found it harder to become Canadian citizens.
Under previous Prime Minister Stephen Harper, major changes made included:
- Increasing the time permanent residents needed to be physically present in Canada to qualify for citizenship;
- Widening the age range for language and knowledge tests;
- Raising the citizenship application fee.
The current Liberal government revoked the changes over the past six months following the passing of Bill C-6, but not before they had seriously impacted the number of people becoming Canadian citizens.
Analysis by Andrew Griffith of the Policy Options public forum reveals a stark contrast between the traditional rate of naturalization and the rate between 2011 and 2016.
His article, titled ‘What the census tells us about citizenship’, states that 90 per cent of immigrants arriving in Canada pre-1981 were citizens in 2016. In the 2011 census, 77.2 per cent of immigrants in the country for between five and 10 years had become citizens. But that rate fell to 68.5 per cent according to 2016 census data.
“The path that leads newcomers to ultimately attain Canadian citizenship is eroding, a trend that the government has yet to acknowledge and address,” Griffith wrote.
He added: “The reversal of some Harper-era policy and operational changes will partially slow this trend, but the government needs to take further steps. The acquisition of citizenship brings benefits to both individuals and to Canadian society.”
The further steps Griffith wants to see taken centre around the citizenship fee, which was raised from $100 to $530 under Harper, and has so far not been changed by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.
Griffith believes the citizenship fee hike is the single biggest barrier for immigrants considering becoming citizens.
Almost all of the other Harper changes have now been revoked. The latest changes to the Citizenship Act came into effect in February.
Under the changes, all citizenship revocation decisions become the responsibility of the Federal Court, unless an individual chooses to have the decision made by the immigration minister.
A new step has also been added to revocation process, whereby Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will review cases before they are referred to the Federal Court and decide whether to continue with proceedings.
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Where individuals choose to have the minister decide their Canadian Citizenship revocation cases, they also have the power to seek a judicial review of the decision.
Previously, under changes made in 2015, the minister was the decision maker for cases of residence fraud, concealed criminality and identity fraud, while the Federal Court took responsibility for cases of fraud relating to organized criminality, security, and human and international rights violations.
Other changes happened in two waves since Bill C-6 was voted into law in June 2017.
Key changes included:
- Dropping the physical present requirement to three years in the last five from four years in the last six;
- Removing the need to be physically present for 183 days in four out of the last six years;
- Changing the age range for knowledge and language testing to 18 to 54 from 14 to 64;
- Removing citizenship revocation power without hearing for dual citizens convicted of treason, spying and terrorism offences;
- Allowing minors to make independent citizenship applications.
Bill C-6 Canadian Citizenship Act Changes
February 2018
| Previous Citizenship Act | Citizenship Act with Bill C-6 Amendments |
| The Minister was the decision-maker for most cases of citizenship revocation on the grounds of false representation, fraud, or knowingly concealing material circumstances. The Federal Court was the decision-maker for citizenship revocation cases involving false representation, fraud, or knowingly concealing material circumstances related to security, human or international right violations, and organized criminality. | The Federal Court is the decision-maker in all revocation cases, unless the individual requests that the Minister make the decision. |
October 2017
| Previous Citizenship Act | Citizenship Act with Bill C-6 Amendments |
| Applicants had to be physically present in Canada for four out of six years before applying for citizenship. | Applicants must be physically present in Canada for three out of five years before applying for citizenship. |
| Applicants had to file Canadian income taxes, if required to do so under the Income Tax Act, for four out of six years, matching the physical presence requirement. | Applicants must file Canadian income taxes, if required to do so under the Income Tax Act, for three out of five years, matching the new physical presence requirement. |
| Applicants had to be physically present in Canada for 183 days in four out of the six years preceding their application. | This provision is repealed. Applicants no longer have to meet this requirement. |
| Time spent in Canada prior to becoming a permanent resident did not count towards the physical presence requirement for citizenship. | Applicants may count each day they were physically present in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident as a half-day toward meeting the physical presence requirement for citizenship, up to a maximum credit of 365 days. |
| Applicants between 14 and 64 years had to meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship. | Applicants between 18 and 54 years must meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship. |
June 2017
| Previous Citizenship Act | Citizenship Act with Bill C-6 Amendments |
| Citizenship could be revoked from dual citizens convicted of treason, spying and terrorism offences, depending on the sentence received, or who were a part of an armed force of a country or organized group engaged in conflict with Canada. | This provision is repealed. Dual citizens living in Canada who are convicted of these crimes will face the Canadian justice system, like other Canadian citizens who break the law. |
| Applicants were required to intend to continue to live in Canada if granted citizenship. | This provision is repealed. Applicants are no longer required to intend to continue to live in Canada once granted citizenship. This provides more flexibility to Canadians who may need to live outside of Canada for work or personal reasons. |
| The Minister had the discretion to waive certain requirements under subsection 5(1) of the Citizenship Act so a minor could obtain citizenship without a Canadian parent. | Minors can now apply for citizenship without a Canadian parent, as the age requirement for citizenship has been removed under subsection 5(1). A person having custody of the minor or empowered to act on their behalf by court order, written agreement or operation of law, can now apply for citizenship on behalf of the minor, unless that requirement is waived by the Minister. |
| No provision existed to prevent individuals serving a sentence in the community (a conditional sentence order) from being granted citizenship, taking the Oath of Citizenship or counting this time towards meeting the physical presence requirements for citizenship. | Individuals serving a conditional sentence will not be granted citizenship, take the Oath of Citizenship, or be able to count this time towards meeting the physical presence requirements for citizenship. |
| The Minister has the discretion to grant citizenship to a person to alleviate cases of special and unusual hardship, or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada. | Statelessness has been added as a stand-alone ground that can be considered for a discretionary grant of citizenship. |
| The Department has reasonable measures to accommodate the needs of citizenship applicants. However, there was no explicit reference to accommodate persons with disabilities in the Citizenship Act. | The requirement to take into consideration reasonable measures to accommodate the needs of a citizenship applicant who is a disabled person is now included in the Citizenship Act. |
| The requirement for applicants to maintain the requirements for citizenship from the time they apply for citizenship until taking the Oath of Citizenship only applied to applications received on or after June 11, 2015. | This requirement now also applies to all applications, including those received before June 11, 2015. |
Remaining Change to be Implemented in 2018
| Previous Citizenship Act | Citizenship Act with Bill C-6 Amendments |
| There was no clear authority for Citizenship Officers to seize fraudulent or suspected fraudulent documents provided under the Citizenship Act. | Clear authority for Citizenship Officers to seize fraudulent or suspected fraudulent documents is provided under the Citizenship Act. |
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