While US-Canadian relations have frayed under US President Donald Trump, data on Canadian citizenship approvals under recently widened rules suggests many Americans would welcome the chance to become Canadian.
Under the new rules, which allow more descendants of Canadians to claim citizenship compared with just first-generation descendants previously, approvals for proof of citizenship by descent have risen by more than 1,000 per month so far this year, data from Canada’s immigration agency shows.
That compares with just 275 additional approvals in December 2025, when the new law went into effect.
The data also shows that roughly 48% of the additional approvals through February originated from the US Immigration lawyers say the high percentage of Americans reflects the historically close ties between the two neighboring countries, while signalling that many Americans see Canada as an attractive place to live or study, especially given recent US political uncertainty.
“The biggest thing is it gives our family options,” said William Hunnewell, a 41-year-old based in Seattle who applied earlier this year and expects a response in nine months to a year. His great-grandfather was a homesteader in Saskatchewan before World War One and his grandfather was born in Canada.
“If my kid wants to study or live in Canada, she can just go — there’s no visa, no deadlines,” he said.
Most new citizens approved under the law will likely remain abroad but many want to keep their options open, said Nick Berning, a US-based immigration lawyer.
“Current interest in Canadian citizenship is definitely influenced by US politics,” Berning said. “They want to stay in the US, but if things become untenable, they want a way out.
“Political divisions have deepened in the US, where polls show growing dissatisfaction with the Trump administration.
Ties between the US and Canada have also grown tense since Trump imposed stiff tariffs on Canadian goods and talked of annexing Canada as the 51st state.
Canadian approvals this year under the newly established category for proof of citizenship totaled 1,140 in January, 1,255 in February and 1,405 in March, according to data that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provided to Reuters.
