Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Becoming a Canadian!

I have been writing for almost four months about being a "Lost Canadian" and the things I'm learning about Canada. I have lived most of my life in West Michigan, just thirty minutes from beautiful Lake Michigan. I lived for a few years in Northern California, two hours from Oregon, where I met my husband - but I was born in West Michigan and have lived most of my life here. Of course I knew my dad and my grandpa, but my great-grandpa died before I was born. Along with not knowing him, I also did not know - until this past April - my great grandpa was born in Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada, and my great-great grandpa and great-great grandma were born in East Hawkesbury, Prescott, Ontario, Canada, and Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada. And I did not know about my many other ancestors as close as just great-great grandparents were born in Canada - six of them - and more before them!

So, does any of this matter? Yes, it does, "If your parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent was born in Canada, you may already be a Canadian citizen. Canada’s new citizenship law — Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act — has permanently removed the first-generation limit which previously prevented Canadian citizenship from passing beyond one generation born outside Canada. For Americans with Canadian ancestry, the implications are enormous. Until now, many of these families were cut off from Canadian citizenship by rules which were rigid, arbitrary, and often discriminatory. Bill C-3 has changed this. Many of these individuals are part of a group known as “Lost Canadians” — people with legitimate Canadian ancestry whose citizenship was never recognized or was stripped away by outdated laws. If you are an American with a Canadian parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or even more distant Canadian ancestor, you may already qualify for Canadian citizenship by descent — and you may have been a Canadian citizen your entire life without knowing it."

I'm a "Lost Canadian"! I have Canadian ancestry and so I have been working to gather all the required paperwork - I'm just waiting on three documents to arrive from Canada and Michigan, then I (and my daughter, son, and grandchildren) will be able to receive Canadian citizenship! As a person who has been heartbroken to watch as the country in which I was born and have lived continues to move toward becoming an authoritarian country, ruled by a massively corrupt war criminal who has harmed and continues to harm so many people around the world. It brings me great relief to know I am actually part of a country which shows honor and respect for their own people and for the people of the world!

Along with learning about Canada, I have been learning about my ancestors - and have learned some really interesting things for sure! For example, my great-great-great-great grandma was born in Nova Scotia (very likely was Mi'kmaq - First Nations!). Her daughter, my great-great-great grandma and my great-great-great-grandpa made maple syrup in the Nova Scotia/New Brunswick area of Canada where they lived, so when they moved to Ontario, they bought land, had a farm, and also made maple syrup there as well! Canada produces 70% of the world's maple syrup and my ancestors used to be part of this! I encourage you to take a look at your ancestors - who knows! You may be a "Lost Canadian", too! And even if you are not, you are likely to learn some interesting things about your family, too, which you will then be able to pass on to the children you love!

So, as I wait for the final three documents to arrive and move through the process for citizenship, I want to continue to learn all I can learn about my country, Canada. It puts a smile on my face and fills my heart with joy and peace to be able to think of Canada as, "my country"! I LOVE being a, "Lost Canadian"! I am committed to being a responsible, contributing citizen of Canada and look forward to learning all I can about this amazing Country.

I'm writing this blog, "Thoughts From a 'Lost Canadian'" to share my journey and thoughts as I move from being a "Lost Canadian" to a true Canadian citizen - you are most welcome to join me on this journey as I discover all the amazing things about Canada!

You will find more information about this new citizenship law in Canada at this link.