Over 375,000 new Canadian citizens in 2025; more expected with Citizen Act revisions
· Toronto Sun
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Canada reportedly gained just more than 375,000 new citizens last year, according to a submission from the Department of Immigration.
Per Blacklock’s Reporter , a total of 376,630 new citizens were granted their papers, the department said in a submission to the Senate national finance committee. The department wouldn’t say how many more applications were still to come after revisions to the Citizenship Act.
However, it did say “the average end-to-end processing time was eight months,” and that processing applications cost $86.8 million.
“This amount does not include internal service costs associated with citizenship,” the report said.
Currently, new citizens pay a $653 fee plus $100 for a minor child, must pass a citizenship test and publicly swear allegiance to the King and Constitution, while a commemorative citizenship certificate costs another $75.
The department would not say how Bill C-3, An Act To Amend The Citizenship Act, which became law last Nov. 20, might affect the numbers still to come.
The amendment granted citizenship to the grandchildren of Canadians abroad.
“Completed data for the fiscal year 2025-2026 are not yet available,” the submission said. “Given the complexity of some Bill C-3 cases, we expect greater pressure on processing times in the near future. The department is processing applications fairly and as quickly as possible while maintaining the integrity of Canada’s citizenship program.”
Bill C-3 application figures not known
The department didn’t give numbers when it came to Bill C-3 applications, refusal rates or backlogs.
Bill C-3 followed a 2023 Ontario Supreme Court ruling that struck a federal law limiting citizenship to only the first generation of children born to Canadians abroad.
The bill limited citizenship to children whose parents spent a minimum 1,095 days in Canada in the five years prior to their birth.
The immigration department originally estimated the bill would “create fewer than 5,000 new Canadians per year, while the Budget Office put total eligibility at 115,000 new citizens abroad.
In a 2022 report, Statistics Canada counted as many as 5.5 million with an unknown number of foreign-born grandchildren now eligible to become citizens.