An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

Bill C-274 amends the Citizenship Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (S.C. 2001, c. 27) to address the first-generation cut-off rule for descent-based Canadian citizenship. Under section 3(3) of the Citizenship Act, Canadian citizens born or naturalized in Canada can pass citizenship to children born abroad, but those children cannot pass citizenship to grandchildren born abroad. The Ontario Superior Court ruled in Bjorkquist v. Canada (2023 ONSC 7152) that the first-generation cut-off violates Charter sections 6 (mobility) and 15 (equality). C-274 implements the court's required statutory fix.