Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Lena Metlege Diab rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 26, 2026. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang
Immigration Minister Lena Diab says people seeking Canadian citizenship by descent must prove their connection to Canada through each generation and that genealogy websites alone are not sufficient evidence.
Diab made the comments June 16 during Question Period in the House of Commons, when asked how many individuals had been given Canadian citizenship using inaccurate documents under a law passed last year that lets some people born before Dec. 15, 2025, obtain Canadian citizenship by descent if they can document a chain of descent to a Canadian citizen.
