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Jun 24, 2026
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I’m trying to determine whether I may have any claim to Canadian citizenship by descent under current law changes, but my family situation involves adoption and a very old timeline, so I’m hoping someone knowledgeable can weigh in.

Here is the family chain:
  • My great-grandmother was born in Canada (I am still confirming exact date/place of birth).
  • At some point, she moved from Canada to the United States. I do not yet know what year.
  • In 1920, while living in the United States, she legally adopted my grandmother. My grandmother (born in US in 1919) was not her biological child.
  • My grandmother never held Canadian citizenship papers or a Canadian passport, as far as my family knows.
  • My mother was born in the United States in 1947.
  • I was born in the United States in 1985.
So the chain is:

Canadian-born great-grandmother

Adopted grandmother (adopted in US in 1920, non-biological child, born in US in 1919)

Mother born in US in 1947

Me, born in US in 1985

My question is:

Under current Canadian citizenship law (including recent changes affecting citizenship by descent / Lost Canadians), is there any possible path to citizenship for descendants when the chain passes through a child legally adopted by the Canadian-born ancestor rather than a biological child?

Or does the fact that the adoption occurred in the US in 1920 and my grandmother never held Canadian citizenship effectively end the possibility?

I realize this is an unusual edge case, but I’d appreciate any insight.
 
I believe the answer is no - I recall reading it somewhere recently but can't off the top of my head say exactly where.

Don't take this as last word, do look into it. But I believe it has to be a clean series of biological links, or at least the adopted individual had to have acquired Canadian citizenship during their lifetime (formally) and biological descent after that.

So as far as I'm aware the only way this could work in your favour would be if your grandmother (biological grandmother to you, that is) had acquired (documented) Canadian citizenship during her lifetime. (And I do not know procedure for that at the specific time, but assume that even if it was possible at the time, that you would know and/or be able to document it - and probably would not have been possible if residing in USA at that time). [Important warning: I'm not sure that even my hypothetical 'works', I'm going by a bit of memory and logic.]