Canada Suspends Citizenship Certificates Issued Under Bill C-3

The federal government has suspended a number of Canadian citizenship certificates issued to people who became eligible under changes adopted late last year. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada emailed suspension notices on Saturday to an unknown number of recipients. The notice was signed by Peggy Sun, registrar of Canadian citizenship.

Recipients were told they will have an opportunity to submit additional evidence and that certificates will be returned if the review finds they are eligible. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not responded to questions submitted by CBC News on Sunday. Valerie Campbell of Bucksport, Maine, received a suspension notice on Saturday.

Campbell and her son Morgan received citizenship certificates based on family roots in Quebec and Ontario. Campbell received her certificate in March. Campbell said the notice came without warning. "It was a complete and total shock, I had no idea this was coming, that there were any problems at all," she said.

"I went into a blind panic. " Campbell, a licensed mental health counsellor, had put her home up for sale and begun planning a move to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. She said the current political climate in the United States had influenced her decision to seek Canadian citizenship.

An estimated 4,075 people from around the world received proof of citizenship by descent certificates following the adoption of Bill C-3. Half of those recipients were born in the United States. Bill C-3 was adopted by Parliament in November and the change went into effect on Dec.

15. Wait times for IRCC to process citizenship certificate applications increased from five months in May 2025 to 15 months. The backlog of citizenship certificate applications stood at 56,000 in April and 70,400 in May.