An increasing number of Americans are exploring their family trees with the hope of securing Canadian citizenship.
Genealogical experts on both sides of the US-Canada border have been deluged with requests from US citizens eager to establish a direct Canadian ancestry.
Thanks to a revision in Canadian law that took effect on December 15, Americans with even distant Canadian heritage can now apply for dual citizenship.
This legislative change has sparked a wave of interest among Americans seeking to relocate northward, particularly during Donald Trump’s second term as president.
‘The law creates a vast potential group of Canadians, and essentially, according to its provisions, these individuals are already considered Canadians,’ explained Patrick Lacroix, director of the Acadian Archives at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, in an interview with Bangor Daily News. ‘However, they may lack the necessary documentation to validate it.’
‘But of course they might not have the paperwork to prove it.’
Acadian Archives documents and preserves information about the Upper St. John Valley, a 70-mile stretch of the St. John River running between the US and Canada.
Their documents can help people trace and prove their Canadian heritage.
A growing number of Americans have been turning to genealogy companies in an attempt to gain Canadian citizenship. Zack Loud of Farmington, Minnesota, said he learned that Canada already considered him and his siblings citizens because their grandmother is Canadian
DNA experts on both sides of the border have been inundated with inquiries from US citizens hoping to prove they have a direct ancestor born in Canada. (Pictured: Donald Trump with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney as they met in the Oval Office October 7, 2025)
Lacroix said he has fielded double the requests so far this year than he received during the same period in 2025.
‘Many of them are very explicit about their goal,’ he told Bangor Daily News. ‘There is no question that some of it is politically driven.’
US citizens can use the archive to track down documents proving ties to Canadian ancestors, like a chain of birth certificates for each generation.
Marriage licenses and death certificates can also be used to join the dots.
Zack Loud of Farmington, Minnesota, said he learned that Canada already considered him and his siblings citizens because their grandmother is Canadian, thanks to the new law.
‘My wife and I were already talking about potentially looking at jobs outside the country, but citizenship pushed Canada way up on our list,’ he said.
Since the new law took effect on December 15, immigration lawyers in the United States and Canada have also been overwhelmed by clients seeking help submitting proof of citizenship applications.
Nicholas Berning, an immigration attorney at Boundary Bay Law in Bellingham, Washington, said his practice is ‘pretty much flooded with this.’
‘We’ve kind of shifted a lot of other work away in order to push these cases through,’ he said.
Immigration attorney Amandeep Hayer said his Vancouver, British Columbia-area practice went from about 200 citizenship cases a year to more than 20 consultations per day.
‘(The new law) opens up a large potential pool of Canadians, and by virtue of the law and the way it’s stated, those folks are already deemed Canadian,’ said Patrick Lacroix (pictured), director of the University of Maine at Fort Kent’s Acadian Archives
Zack Loud of Farmington, Minnesota, said he learned that Canada already considered him and his siblings citizens because their grandmother is Canadian, thanks to the new law
‘My wife and I were already talking about potentially looking at jobs outside the country, but citizenship pushed Canada way up on our list,’ Loud said
Canada has been changing its citizenship laws for decades, whether to update historic interpretations of law or to address discrimination issues.
Previously, Canadian citizenship by descent could only be passed down to one generation, from a parent to a child.
But the new law opened up citizenship to anyone born before that date who could prove they have a direct Canadian ancestor; a grandparent, great-grandparent or even more distant ancestor.
Those born on or after December 15, 2026, need to show that their Canadian parent lived in Canada for 1,095 days.
Under the new law, descendants of Canadians are already considered citizens but must provide proof to obtain a certificate of citizenship. Hayer estimated that there are millions of Americans who are of Canadian descent.
‘You are Canadian, and you’re considered to be one your whole life,’ said Hayer, who advocated for the new law in parliament.
‘That’s really what you’re applying for, the recognition of a right you already have vested.
‘The best way I can put it is like, if a baby’s born tomorrow in Canada, the baby’s Canadian even though they don’t have the birth certificate.’
No matter how far back, Americans with a genetic link to Canada can claim dual citizenship thanks to a change to Canadian law which came into effect in December
American applicants have different motivations, but many say President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and other topics have led them to seek dual citizenship.
Michelle Cunha, of Bedford, Massachusetts, said she decided to move to Canada after reflecting on decades of political activism and deciding she had ‘nothing left to give.’
‘I put in my best effort for 30 years. I have done everything that I possibly can to make the United States what it promises the world to be, a place of freedom, a place of equality,’ Cunha said.
‘But clearly we’re not there and we’re not going to get there anytime soon.’
