Canada grants citizenship to nearly 380,000 as Bill C-3 opens door to more

Canada granted citizenship to nearly 380,000 people last year as Ottawa prepares for thousands more to gain citizenship under its controversial expansion of citizenship by descent.

Source: Wikimedia Commons (Joey Coleman)

Nearly 380,000 people gained Canadian citizenship last year as the federal immigration department warns its controversial expansion of citizenship by descent could put further pressure on processing times.

A total of 376,630 people were granted Canadian citizenship, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada figures submitted to the Senate national finance committee and obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“The average end-to-end processing time was eight months,” the department said.

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Processing the applications cost taxpayers $86.8 million, according to the report Cost and Processing Times For Citizenship Applications.

“This amount does not include internal service costs associated with citizenship,” the department said.

The figures come as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deals with the effects of Bill C-3, which received royal assent on Nov. 20, 2025, and took effect Dec. 15.