My mother was born to U.S. citizens in Toronto Ontario in 1915.  My
grandfather was working for a U.S company there.  They all moved back
to the U.S. shortly after her birth.  The Canadian Immigration web
site says the following: 
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizen/procit_e.html

Virtually all people born in this country are considered to be
Canadian citizens. Likewise, anyone born to a Canadian parent is
considered to be a Canadian citizen.  I have lived in the U.S. all my
life except for the last few months when I have been in Canada on a
study permit.  Does this mean I am a Canadian citizen?

Hi ouzel,

No, I'm sorry, you are not a Canadian citizen.  People born in Canada
prior to January 1, 1947 (your mother) were in fact British subjects
and not Canadian citizens, however, your mother gave that up when she
moved to the States and became a U.S. citizen. Had she stayed in
Canada and kept her British status, she would've been granted Canadian
Citizenship on January 1, 1947. Given that she was considered an
"alien" (U.S. citizen) on that date, she could not claim Canadian
citizenship through her birth in Canada.

Citizenship
"From 1763 until the Canadian Citizenship Act came into force on
January 1, 1947, people born in Canada were all British subjects."
http://www.genealogy.gc.ca/10/100701_e.html

"Prior to January 1, 1947, there was no citizenship statute in
existence. Canada was in the curious position of being a nation
without citizens. This was corrected on January 1, 1947 with the
Canadian Citizenship Act, S.C. 1946, c.15 (the "Former Act"). The
Former Act recognized Canadian citizenship for the first time."
Persons Born in Canada Prior to January 1, 1947
"As stated above, prior to the Former Act, no citizenship statute
existed. The Current Act provides limited recognition of citizenship
for persons born in Canada prior to the coming into force of the
Former Act. Section 4 of the Current Act provides that only persons
who were not "aliens" on January 1, 1947 can claim citizenship through
birth in Canada. Section 2 of the Former Act defined "alien" as a
person who was not a Canadian citizen, Commonwealth Citizen, British
subject or citizen of the Republic of Ireland."
"Persons born in Canada who were "aliens" under the Former Act prior
to January 1, 1947 could not claim Canadian citizenship through birth
in Canada. However, they might still be considered Canadian citizens
under the Canadian Parentage (discussed here) rules. If that failed,
they might be in a position to apply for naturalization (discussed
here)."
http://www.americanlaw.com/cdncitborn.html

Acquisition of Canadian Citizenship At Birth Prior to January 1, 1947
in Canada or on a Canadian Ship
Section of Law Section 4(1)(a) of Canadian Citizenship Act
Requirements to be met by Parents: None
Miscellaneous Requirements to be met by children to retain Canadian citizenship
"Child" was not an alien on the first day of January, 1947. (A person
under this Section is considered an alien only if he gained another
citizenship by an act on his part...)"
http://www.theshipslist.com/Forms/CanCitBirth.htm#birth1

If you want to be absolutely positive regarding your mother, you can
obtain a "Summary of Citizenship Record" for your mother. It would
cost $75 and can be obtained by calling the CIC's toll free number: 
1-888-242-2100.

Additional Link of Interest:

Choose the one section that applies to you.
"If this application is for your first citizenship certificate,
provide originals or clear and legible certified copies of your
documents."
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/guides/CIT0006E3.html

I hope I've helped you to sort this out. If you have any questions,
please post a clarification request *before* closing/rating my answer
and I'll be happy to reply.

Thank you,
hummer

Google Search Terms Used:
citizenship born in canada before 1947

---

Request for Answer Clarification by ouzel-ga on 04 Mar 2005 21:24 PST

Thanks for the very thorough answer.  I do have one thing I'd like to
clarify.  You stated the following:

Had she stayed in
Canada and kept her British status, she would've been granted Canadian
Citizenship on January 1, 1947. Given that she was considered an
"alien" (U.S. citizen) on that date, she could not claim Canadian
citizenship through her birth in Canada.

However you also quoted from
http://www.theshipslist.com/Forms/CanCitBirth.htm#birth1 the
following:

Miscellaneous Requirements to be met by children to retain Canadian citizenship
"Child" was not an alien on the first day of January, 1947. (A person
under this Section is considered an alien only if he gained another
citizenship by an act on his part...)"

My mother left Canada at a very young age (I believe within a couple
months of her birth).  What do they mean by "an act on his part"?  I
don't think she or her parents ever sought any formal citizenship for
her in the U.S. and she didn't leave Canada by an act on her part
since she was a baby at the time.  In fact whenever she crossed the
canadian border and said she was born in Canada they would ask for her
proof of US citizenship which she never had.  Post-9/11 if she were
still alive she might have real difficulty at the border.  Anyway,
thanks for your work.  Any clarification would be appreciated.

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 05 Mar 2005 07:07 PST

Hi ouzel,

"A British woman marrying an alien lost her British subject status
automatically on marriage, before 1933 whether or not she acquired her
husband's citizenship;"

Background to British Nationality Law
2. In general terms, that status was held by those people born within
the Crown's dominions or naturalised there, and by the first
generation born elsewhere (legitimate descent in the male line only).
The status could be lost by naturalisation in a foreign state, or by
making a Declaration of Alienage. A British woman marrying an alien
lost her British subject status automatically on marriage, before 1933
whether or not she acquired her husband's citizenship; from that date
onwards she lost it only if she acquired the nationality of her
husband. An alien woman who married a British subject automatically
became a British subject on marriage. The nationality of minor
children was tied to that of their father or widowed mother, and they
gained or lost British subject status accordingly.
http://www.britainusa.com/consular/bnatlaw.asp

It's amazing that your mother never applied for naturalization in the U.S.. 

You may enjoy this website:
Lost Canadian Children
http://lostcanadianchildren.com/

Thank you for the tip, I appreciate it. For any future questions that
you post on GA, it would be better to wait until the end of the
clarification process before closing/rating/tipping. Clarifications
are considered part of the answer and may signifigantly improve the
overall result and thus the rating as well.

Thanks again,
hummer

Good job on a confusing issue.