Elton John identifies as Canadian by choice, while millions around the world are Canadian by blood

His Toronto fans would surely affirm Elton John's recent claim of being "Canadian." After all, though he holds only British citizenship, John's been partnered with his husband, Canadian filmmaker David Furnish, for over three decades, and he and Furnish have two children together, both Canadian citizens.

While likely to grant John's claim of being Canadian by choice, many of those same fans might push back against today's legal regime that awards Canadian citizenship based on blood.

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Under Canada's current Citizenship Act, millions of people born all over the world have the right to Canadian citizenship, many having far less of a connection to Canada than John.

Last December, Canada removed the generational limit to inheriting Canadian citizenship for anyone born before December 15, 2025. At the stroke of a pen, millions of Americans became eligible, including those whose families had lived entirely in the United States for four or more generations.

Every one of these people around the world with even a single Canadian ancestor, no matter how many generations removed, now has a greater right to Canadian citizenship than John, who told Saturday's crowd "Canada is part of my life and is embedded in my soul."

"I am Canadian"

John was in Toronto to accept the Glenn Gould Prize.

Named after the iconic Canadian pianist, the prize is awarded every two years by the Glenn Gould Foundation, and as on of the most prestigious cultural honours in the world, is often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of the Arts."

On May 9, John became the 15th laureate of the prize.

His connection to Canada runs deeper than the stage. John married Canadian filmmaker David Furnish in 2014, and the couple have two children—both Canadian citizens—together. Furnish has been John's partner for over three decades.

Through Furnish and their family, Canada has become a central part of John's life. It was that personal connection he was speaking to when he told the crowd at the award ceremony: "I have a family here."

You might already be Canadian

On December 15, 2025, Canada's Bill C-3 took effect, eliminating the generational limit on citizenship by descent and opening the doors to citizenship to millions of people around the world.

Anyone born before that date who can trace an unbroken line of ancestry to a Canadian-born relative is now eligible for Canadian citizenship, regardless of how many generations back that ancestor lived and regardless of where in the world they currently reside.

If you have the ancestry, you may already hold the status. You simply need to prove it.

This applies to citizens of any country. In the United States alone, an estimated 3 million Americans have French-Canadian ancestry as a result of the mass migration of nearly 900,000 Quebecers to New England between 1840 and 1930.

Cajuns in Louisiana are another example--they can trace their family heritage to the Acadian expulsion from Nova Scotia.

Many more across the U.S. may have their roots in Canada without knowing it.

But the law is not limited to Americans. Anyone, anywhere in the world, with a Canadian ancestor may now be eligible.

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What Canadian citizenship means if you have another passport

Canadian citizens hold the unconditional right to enter, live, and work in Canada at any time, with no visa, no work permit, and no time limit. The Canadian passport currently ranks seventh in the world on the Henley Passport Index, with visa-free access to 182 destinations.

For Americans, Brits, and citizens of many other countries, dual citizenship is fully recognized.

Obtaining Canadian citizenship has no effect on US or UK citizenship and creates no additional tax obligations, since Canada applies no worldwide tax on its citizens.

For citizens of other countries, it is worth confirming that your country of citizenship permits dual nationality before applying, as not all countries do.

How to apply

If you can identify at least one Canadian ancestor and obtain the official documents proving your descent from them, you can apply for a proof of citizenship certificate from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Processing the citizenship certificate currently takes approximately 12 months. Once you receive the certificate, you can apply for a Canadian passport, which currently processes in 10 to 20 business days.

The core documents are birth certificates, marriage certificates, and baptismal records connecting you to your Canadian ancestor, generation by generation.

If you are unsure about your connection to the country, several hints to your Canadian ancestry may be hiding in plain sight: a French or anglicized surname, or a family history in New England, or Louisiana.

The further back into your family tree you go, the higher your chances of finding a Canadian ancestor.

You can check whether you may be eligible using CanadaVisa's citizenship by descent calculator.

A connection that comes with a passport

John's bond with Canada is built on love, family, and decades of personal history.

For millions of others, the connection is ancestral — a grandparent from Quebec, a great-grandmother from Nova Scotia, a distant relative who crossed the border generations ago and whose descendants never looked back.

Thanks to a change in the law, that connection now comes with a passport.

Get a Free Consultation on Applying for Proof of Canadian Citizenship