What is Canada's new citizenship bill C-3? And how will it impact Indians? Explained
As Canada works to solve its immigration issues, the Mark Carney-led government have introduced a new bill which will bring in a limit on citizenship provided by descent. The citizenship amendment - C-3 - announced on Thursday, will effectively restore citizenship to lost Canadians.
Introduced by Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab, the C-3 will be focus on fixing "injustices" against Canadian-born citizens outside of Canada.
As per the Canadian government, ill C-3 will -
The current rules state that if a Canadian citizen was born outside of Canada, they will not be pass on their citizenship to their child born abroad.
Furthermore, this rule, introduced in 2009, restricted citizenship via descent only to first generation born Canadians.
"The current first-generation limit to citizenship no longer reflects how Canadian families live today—here at home and around the world—and the values that define our country," said Immigration minister Diab while introducing the new C-3 bill.
This amendment to the citizenship bill also comes after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice deemed the existing version of the rule "unconstitutional" in December 2023.
This bill is expected to benefit the Indian diaspora and other immigrants in Canada as the C-3 bill will "allow a Canadian parent born abroad who has a substantial connection to Canada to pass on citizenship to their child born abroad beyond the first generation."
"It would also provide them with access to the direct grant of citizenship for their child adopted abroad beyond the first generation," IRCC added further.
Which means, a persons born in India to Canadian citizens or ancestors will now be eligible for Canadian citizenship based on the C-3 bill.
This bill also comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has ended birthright citizenship, impacting several immigrants in the United States.
The C-3 bill is currently under legislative review and needed to be passed by both houses of Parliament to become a law.
"If the bill passes both Houses of Parliament and receives Royal Assent, we will work as quickly as possible to bring the changes into effect," said IRCC in its official statement.
In the Canadian parliament, a bill must pass three readings before the two Houses cast their vote. After the houses cast their votes, the bill is then passed to the Governor General for Royal Assent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
9 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Decode politics: In poll-bound Bihar, calls for domicile reservation grow. Why they are difficult to ignore
Ahead of the Bihar polls, an old issue has come to haunt the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government. On June 5, the Bihar Student Union, an umbrella body of several student organisations, led a protest in Patna demanding domicile reservation in government jobs. Bihar has an unemployment rate of 3.9% as per the latest NITI Aayog estimates, higher than the national average of 3.2%. Many young people in the state rely on government jobs, which have been marred with irregularities in the recent past. Hence, jobs are a politically sensitive issue, with resonance ahead of the polls. Those demanding domicile reservation argue that candidates from outside the state are taking away jobs that belong to youths of Bihar. Their slogan 'Vote de Bihari, naukari le bahri (Biharis vote, outsiders take jobs)' is fast gaining momentum as the elections draw closer. Under domicile reservation, the government of a particular state reserves a portion of government jobs or educational seats for its residents, the idea being to prioritise local candidates or protect local interests in competitive job markets. While Bihar does not have a general domicile-based reservation policy for government jobs, the NDA government claims that most of the recruits in recent government exams have been Bihar residents. Additionally, around a fortnight back, the Bihar government announced reservation of 4% of all government jobs for persons with disabilities from the state. In December 2020, following a series of protests, the state government had briefly introduced a domicile rule for school teacher recruitment. But it was withdrawn in June 2023 by the short-lived Mahagathbandhan alliance that subsequently came to power, allowing candidates from any Indian state to apply for the teaching positions. Then Bihar education minister Chandrashekar Yadav had cited 'vacant seats for quality mathematics and science teachers' as the reason, while bureaucrats had mentioned 'constitutional provisions and Supreme Court rulings' for the decision. The demand for domicile reservation flows from Bihar's economic and social challenges. As per a NITI Aayog report titled 'Macro and Fiscal Landscape of the State of Bihar', published in March 2025, Bihar's economy is predominantly agrarian, with 49.6% its workforce engaged in agriculture between 2022-23. Only 5.7% of the state has manufacturing jobs — one of the lowest shares in India. Service and construction jobs make up the rest of the jobs pie and constitute 26% and 18.4% of the workforce respectively. The lack of private-sector jobs makes government positions highly coveted, as they offer stability and benefits. Though the government has tried to expand hiring in recent years, demand far outstrips supply. They are demanding an official domicile quota with 100% reservation for Bihar natives in primary teacher recruitment and at least 90% reservation in other state jobs for candidates with valid long-term Bihar domicile certificates. The protesters argue that neighbouring states already protect the opportunities of their locals and that the youth of Bihar is competing unfairly with outsiders for limited opportunities. This, they argue, results in a vicious cycle of unemployment and migration from Bihar. State policies on domicile reservation vary. Uttarakhand reserves all Class III and IV jobs for candidates who have lived in the state for at least 15 years. Maharashtra also requires a similar 15-year domicile and fluency in Marathi for many government posts, effectively prioritising locals. Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have special constitutional provisions that reserve large fractions of local government jobs for indigenous tribes. Jammu and Kashmir had similar reservations before the abrogation of its special status in 2019. On June 2, the Central government notified 85% reservation for the residents of Ladakh. In 2023, the Jharkhand Assembly passed a Bill to reserve all government jobs in the Class III and IV category for domiciles based on the 1932 land record. But the governor returned it, citing constitutional issues, and it has not yet been implemented. Article 16(2) of the Constitution guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment and prohibits discrimination based on place of birth or residence. Article 16(3) allows only Parliament, not state governments, to prescribe residency requirements for specific posts. Besides, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled against state-level domicile reservations, emphasising national unity. In the Pradeep Jain vs Union of India case (1984), the Court held that 'sons-of-the-soil' policies are unconstitutional as they undermine equal opportunity. Exceptions exist under Article 371 for states like Nagaland to protect interests of the tribal population of the state. The Nitish Kumar-led NDA government has not yet given a direct public statement on the domicile protests. However, it has spoken out against this earlier. Last month, JD(U) leader Manish Kumar Verma said a domicile reservation policy would 'go against the Constitution', and could prompt retaliatory measures from other states and affect the millions of Bihari migrants working elsewhere. Instead, Verma said, the government was focusing on large-scale recruitment drives to address unemployment. Both RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Jan Suraaj head Prashant Kishor have, however, backed the demand. Yadav has even promised 100% reservation across all jobs if the RJD comes to power in the coming polls.
United News of India
10 minutes ago
- United News of India
BJP walkout in the Bengal assembly over Anubrata
Kolkata, June 11 (UNI) Opposition BJP on Wednesday staged a walkout in the West Bengal Assembly after Speaker Biman Banerjee refused to allow the saffron legislators to raise a resolution against the Birbhum's TMC leader Anubrata Mondal's alleged foul language against the Bolpur police station officer-in-charge and against his family members. All BJP MLAs walked out of the Assembly after the chair on Tuesday evening accepted a privilege motion against Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari brought by four senior TMC ministers. BJP legislator Shankar Ghosh told media outside the Assembly on Wednesday that the acceptance of the privilege motion was illegitimate since Adhikari had not said anything against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the floor of the House on Tuesday. Speaker Biman Banerjee took exception to Adhikari's version as the Chief Minister "batted for Pakistan in the assembly" while speaking on a resolution brought by the Speaker appreciating the Indian armed forces for retaliation against terrorists in PoK and in Pakistan after the gunmen shot dead 25 tourists and a local at Pahalgam on April 26 in Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday sought a " review action taken report" from the Superintendent of Police, Bolpur, as to what action the law enforcing agency took against Mondal after he allegedly abused the Bolpur IC. A purported audio clip, which went viral revealed that Mondal, also known as the strongman of Birbhum district, used abusive language against the police officer and his family members. The NCW, before seeking the review action taken by the SP, had written to Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar about the purported verbal abuse of a cop in Birbhum by TMC leader Mondal. However, the NWC was unhappy about the reply and expressed dissatisfaction with police not attaching the copy of the FIR and not even seizing the mobile phone from which Mondal had called the police officer. The NCW in its second letter to the Bolpur SP on Tuesday demanded the review action taken report to be returned within five days. NCW member Archana Majumdar said 'The National Commission for Women expresses deep concern over the apparent inaction by the state police in this matter, despite clear and widespread public outrage. This inaction not only emboldens such repeat offenders but also deeply undermines the morale of the police force and shakes public confidence in the neutrality and responsiveness of law enforcement agencies.' A week after the audio conversation between Mondal and the police officer went viral, Mondal appeared before the sub-divisional police officer and recorded his statement. The TMC condemned Mondal's remarks and sought an apology from him, which he promptly complied with.
Mint
10 minutes ago
- Mint
Canada's Ex-Minister Urges Better China Ties to Hedge US Risks
Canada should bolster ties with China to hedge against uncertainty from US President Donald Trump's approach to bilateral relations, according to a former top Canadian official. 'Who are the other reliable partners we have in the world?' said Bill Morneau, who served as finance minister under former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau through 2020. Noting that China is Canada's second-largest trading partner, after the US, he said it's no surprise that Prime Minister Mark Carney is looking to build 'a more stable and expansive trading relationship with China and other countries.' Morneau's comments come as Canada seeks to diversify its economic partnerships while talks with the US drag on. Earlier this month, Carney spoke with Chinese Premier Li Qiang about trade and tackling the fentanyl crisis in a sign of warming ties. Carney's government also invited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Alberta this weekend. Morneau, speaking Wednesday at the Bloomberg Invest conference in Hong Kong, said that while Ottawa should look to reach a trade deal with Washington and maintain strong ties, officials also need to protect the economy and Canada's own interests from the currently 'very volatile' relationship with its southern neighbor. Canadian and US officials have been holding trade talks for months, with Trump and Carney in direct contact ahead of the G-7 meeting beginning June 15. The two sides are looking to negotiate a deal to ease tariffs on each other's goods. Meanwhile, many of the issues Trump has raised, including undocumented migration into the US, don't relate to Canada, Morneau said. 'My expectation is that much of this is obviously posturing,' said Morneau, who was also previously governor of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The renegotiation of the trade agreement between the nations will likely include greater access into Canada's protected dairy market and an increased Canadian role in NATO, Morneau said, while any major change to natural-resource sharing — such as Canadian fresh water — is off the table. Carney this week announced a boost to defense spending to meet NATO's target this year, saying it's needed in a 'darker, more competitive world.' Trump has called for all countries to increase their share of global military spending in order to rely less on the US. 'You want to get to as best you can with as many partners as you can, whether its with China or with other parts of the world,' Morneau said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
