Canada's extension of citizenship by descent to "lost Canadians" is producing an unexpected side effect south of the border: backlogs and long processing delays at American genealogical archives.

Bill C-3 came into force on Dec. 15, 2025, allowing Canadian citizenship for anyone who can prove descent from a Canadian ancestor, even if that ancestor left Canada generations ago. Parliament adopted the law after courts ruled that limiting citizenship by descent to the first generation born outside Canada was too restrictive.

The provision has proven especially popular with Americans. Between Dec. 15, 2025 and June 30, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued citizenship certificates to 6,635 people under Bill C-3 — 3,510 of them born in the United States. Another 19,160 people received certificates on the basis of a Canadian parent, including 9,150 born in the U.S. Before the bill's adoption, people born outside Canada needed a Canadian parent to qualify.

In total, the certificates allow 25,795 newly recognized citizens to apply for Canadian passports and to live and work in Canada.

Demand has overwhelmed IRCC itself. The backlog of citizenship certificate applications currently stands at 136,000, with an estimated processing time of 33 months. Last October, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab told the House of Commons immigration committee she expected only "volumes in the tens of thousands over time." In July, Diab confirmed officials had paused "lost Canadians" applications for a departmental "quality check," saying "it was normal that these things happen with quality assurance checks."

Small archives struggle

The paperwork surge now reaches deep into U.S. record repositories. In Lafayette, Louisiana, the two-person archive of the Diocese of Lafayette — which holds records of many Acadian families — has received 1,350 requests since Bill C-3 took effect, according to archivist Barbara Dejean. Over 450 requests are waiting to be processed.

"The same day that we mail out 40, 40 more come in the mail, so it's not like we can make some headway on it," said associate archivist Stephanie Simon. Turnaround time is currently 12 to 16 weeks. It used to be two to three days.

In southern Illinois, Mike Heithaus, part-time archivist with the Diocese of Belleville, received 32 requests between roughly June 1 and early September. "When it's just me and I'm here 10 to 15 hours a week, that is basically consuming all my time," he said. Rather than refuse requests, the diocese increased his hours from 10 to 15 per week and more than tripled its fee, from $10 to $33 US.

Federal records under pressure

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) holds naturalization records, census records, passenger records and Canadian border-crossing records that can help establish ancestry. NARA's public affairs department declined an interview, but sources speaking on condition of anonymity said archivists are seeing more requests this year from people seeking Canadian dual citizenship under Bill C-3, alongside rising demand from Americans pursuing dual citizenship in countries such as Italy and Germany.

"It's become untenable," one source said. "People are seeking these records out and it's become most of our job."

At the Acadian Archives at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, requests related to Canadian citizenship documents jumped from one each in 2024 and 2025 to 72 in 2026, according to archivist Anderson Smith. A June change to IRCC regulations requiring original or certified copies of documents then reduced demand. Staff now help requesters find the original sources or institutions that can issue certified copies.

The American French Genealogical Society in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, has processed roughly 200 requests since Bill C-3 came into force and has a backlog of about 150 more. "We're an all-volunteer organization, nobody gets paid," said society president Normand Deragon. "Our libraries open only two days a week, so you can see how it would be easy for us to get backlogged… We're cranking them out as quickly as we can."

Why so many could qualify

Estimates of how many people could qualify under Bill C-3 vary widely. Some point to a period spanning more than 100 years — in the 1800s and 1900s and even earlier — when hundreds of thousands of Canadians, particularly from Quebec, crossed the border for jobs in the United States.

Applicants seeking proof of lineage should check IRCC's official document requirements before requesting records, since the June rule change now demands original or certified copies.