Holders of Canadian proof of citizenship certificates who were born outside Canada may have had their constitutional rights affected by a federal requirement to surrender those certificates while their cases are reviewed. The issue concerns citizens by descent and the practical ability to prove Canadian citizenship.
On 13 June 2026, the Registrar of Citizenship issued letters en masse to people born outside Canada, requiring the immediate surrender of their Canadian citizenship certificates while their cases were under investigation.
The letters relied on Citizenship Regulations 26(1), which allows the Registrar to require surrender of a certificate of naturalization, certificate of citizenship, miniature certificate of citizenship, photo citizenship certificate, or certificate of renunciation if there is reason to believe the person may not be entitled to the certificate or may have violated the Citizenship Act.
Why the requirement may be challenged
Ala Bujac, a lawyer at Cohen Immigration Law, said on 17 June 2026 that the regulation appears to threaten the citizenship rights of Canadians who were not born on Canadian soil.
The potential legal issue is whether forcing citizens by descent to surrender proof of citizenship treats them differently from citizens born in Canada.
Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, people are protected from discrimination, including discrimination based on national or ethnic origin. Canadian citizens also receive the full range of Charter rights under the Citizenship Act.
A citizen by descent who surrenders a citizenship certificate may still legally remain a Canadian citizen. The practical problem is that they no longer have the document that proves their citizenship.
By contrast, citizens born in Canada can usually prove citizenship with a Canadian birth certificate. Birth certificates are not subject to forced surrender under Citizenship Regulations 26(1).
Equality rights issue
The legal argument is that citizens by descent may be disadvantaged because of national origin.
If a court finds that Citizenship Regulations 26(1) violates equality rights under Charter 15(1), the next question would likely be whether the violation can still be justified under Charter 1.
Charter 1 allows rights and freedoms to be limited only by reasonable limits prescribed by law that can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
Practical impact
The immediate concern is not necessarily loss of citizenship itself. The concern is loss of the document needed to prove citizenship while the government investigates a case.
This can affect the ability of citizens by descent to exercise rights in practice, even if their citizenship status remains legally intact.
The issue may ultimately require a Charter challenge. If affected people pursue such a case, it could take years before Canadian courts provide a final answer on whether the forced surrender requirement is constitutional.
Source article: www.cicnews.com
