Millions of Cajuns, New Englanders May Already Be Canadians Under New Citizenship Law

TORONTO — Legions of Americans who contemplate moving to Canada after every change of government in the United States — regardless of whether the winner is a Democrat or Republican — are in luck: For many, they may already be Canadian citizens.Under a recent change in Canadian law, citizenship is automatically conferred on anyone who can trace their ancestry back to a Canadian citizen. That opens the door to citizenship for virtually the entire Cajun population of Louisiana as well as large numbers of residents in border states like Michigan, Minnesota, and Vermont.“It doesn’t matter where you were born — and it doesn’t matter whether your parents, or even your grandparents, ever lived in Canada, or even if they ever held Canadian passports themselves,” reads a website dedicated to Canadian immigration issues, CAC News.“As long as you were born prior to December 15, 2025, and can trace your lineage back to a Canadian ancestor, you’re automatically eligible under Canada’s citizenship by descent legislation, and you can apply for proof of Canadian citizenship.”The website says as many as three million New Englanders may qualify for citizenship under Bill C-3, which came into force on December 15, 2025. The Detroit Free Press has calculated that the law makes eligible some 148,000 people — almost 1.5 percent of Michigan’s population – most of whom are descended from French Canadians. The website Minnesota Fun Facts calculates that almost 56,000 people in the Wolverine State can trace their ancestry back to French Canada.In Louisiana, virtually the entire Cajun population — estimated at between 500,000 and 700,000 people — can claim Canadian citizenship if they can trace their family lines back to the original French-speaking Acadians who were expelled from what is now Nova Scotia by Britain in the mid-18th century.The new law removes one of the biggest obstacles facing disgruntled Americans who think about bolting to Canada after their candidate loses the presidential election — a consideration for thousands of Americans each cycle regardless of whether they vote Democrat or Republican.Google searches for “how to move to Canada” spiked by 1,270 percent within 24 hours of polls closing on the night of President Trump’s re-election in 2024. On the night of Mr. Trump’s first election in 2016, the Canadian immigration website crashed due to a huge surge in traffic from American IP addresses.While the spike associated with President Biden’s election in 2020 was smaller, the number of Americans following through with the move was higher than during the first Trump administration in the months after the election, according to the government agency Immigration Canada.“In the 16 months since Biden’s victory through to the end of May this year, 16,385 Americans became new permanent residents of Canada, an average of 1,024 per month,” the agency reported in July 2022. “That’s an increase of almost a third more Americans immigrating to Canada on a monthly basis during the Biden administration so far compared to the outflow every month during Trump’s time in the White House.”Even for Americans who are content with the party in power, practical reasons may motivate individuals to acquire a Canadian passport — the Canadian passport allows visa-free access to slightly more countries than the American document — 182 compared to 179 — including China, where Canadians can visit for up to 30 days for tourism, business, family visits, exchange programs, or transit.The document also offers an alternative for Americans who worry about negative attitudes toward their country abroad, a concern exhibited since the Vietnam and Iraq wars in the number of “flag-jackers” who attach Canadian flags to their backpacks and suitcases while traveling in foreign lands. Unlike some countries that don’t allow dual citizenship, Canada allows Americans to keep their U.S. citizenship as well.

Millions of Cajuns, New Englanders May Already Be Canadians Under New Citizenship Law

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