American with Canadian ancestry? You may have a second Thanksgiving to celebrate

On Monday, October 12, Canadians will sit down to turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. Most Americans will do the same six weeks later, on November 26.

In most US households, the Canadian holiday passes without a second thought. For some Americans, it may be as much theirs as the November one.

This is the first Canadian Thanksgiving since Bill C-3 took effect on December 15, 2025. Under Canada's amended citizenship law, people born before that date with an unbroken family line to a Canadian ancestor may also be Canadian citizens, even if no one in the family has lived in Canada for generations.

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Two countries, two dates

Both Canada and the US have a long history with this celebrated holiday.

In the US, President George Washington declared November 26 as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer in 1789. But it was in 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln called for a national day of thanks on the last Thursday of November, and later presidents kept the custom. The date shifted over the years due to economic pressures, and finally settled on the fourth Thursday of November in 1941.

For Canada, the federal government issued annual proclamations for Thanksgiving in 1879. For decades after, the government picked the date each year by proclamation, and it moved between October and November. On January 31, 1957, a proclamation fixed it to the second Monday of October as a day of thanks for the harvest.

The difference in date usually comes down to geography. Canada sits farther north, and its harvest comes in earlier. The October date also keeps the holiday clear of Remembrance Day.

The modern meals also overlap: Loyalists helped spread American-style Thanksgiving foods and customs in Canada, although Canadian thanksgiving observances have additional and distinct histories.

The law changed in December 2025

Before December 15, 2025, Canada's first-generation limit stopped citizenship by descent after one generation born abroad. A Canadian parent who was born outside Canada generally could not pass citizenship to a child also born outside the country.

Bill C-3 removed that limit for people born before December 15, 2025. If you were born before that date and can document a direct* unbroken line to a Canadian ancestor, you may already be a citizen, with no cap on how many generations back that ancestor sits.

Those with Canadian ancestry still have to prove their status by submitting a proof of citizenship application to IRCC (Canada’s citizenship department). Those who are successful receive a Canadian citizenship certificate.

The certificate is also the document you would use to apply for a Canadian passport.

Because you are already a citizen in the eyes of the law, there is no language test, citizenship exam, residency requirement or oath.

*Canadian citizenship is passed on from parent to child. “Direct” in this context means that you receive citizenship through this same relationship, across a potentially unlimited number of generations; be it from your parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. The farther back you trace a family tree, the higher your chances of finding a Canadian ancestor.

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Thanksgiving is a good time to ask

US Thanksgiving is one of the few days a year when several generations share a table, which makes it a practical place to start. Questions worth asking older relatives include:

• Where were your parents and grandparents born?
• Was anyone in the family born in Canada and became a US citizen later? If so, when?
• Did anyone in the family speak French at home?
• Has our last name always been spelled this way?
• Did any relatives come from "up north," or move there and come back?
• Does anyone keep old family papers, such as a family Bible, baptismal certificates, marriage records or obituaries?

Write down names, dates and places as you hear them. Record searches run on those details, and one answer can point towards a whole new citizenship.

Families more likely to have a claim

Claims tend to cluster in places where Canadians crossed the border in large numbers.

• French-Canadian families in New England. An estimated 900,000 French-speaking Canadians left Quebec for New England's textile mills between 1840 and 1930. Towns such as Lewiston, Maine and Woonsocket, Rhode Island still show that history in their parishes and family names.
• Families in border states. Households in Michigan, New York, Minnesota and other states along the border often have relatives who moved back and forth for work or marriage.
• Families with changed surnames. Many newcomers adjusted their names to fit in, so a Boulanger may now be a Baker and a Lapierre a Stone. Your surname may be a clue. Do note that a changed surname is only a research clue, not evidence of citizenship.

Family stories need paperwork behind them

A claim rests on documents. You need a chain of records linking you to your Canadian ancestor one generation at a time, usually through birth and marriage records, all from the original source authority. IRCC expects every generation in that chain to be documented, so a missing link can stall an application.

Gaps in the record are common, and they do not always end a claim. There are accepted ways to work around missing documents. Applicants with complex or incomplete records may choose to obtain professional assistance.

One discovery can reach the whole family

Citizenship by descent follows a direct family line. If your claim holds, your siblings may share it, along with first cousins who descend from the same ancestor and their children.

Canada and the US both allow dual citizenship. Confirming Canadian status does not require giving up your US citizenship.

For most Americans, October 12 will be an ordinary Monday. For those with a Canadian ancestor somewhere in the family tree, it may be the national holiday of a country they already belong to, arriving over six weeks ahead of the one they grew up with.

If a surname, a birthplace or a family story points north, CanadaVisa's citizenship by descent eligibility checker can show you in under a minute whether your family line may qualify.

Get a Free Consultation on Applying for Proof of Canadian Citizenship