A law declared unconstitutional in 2023 is still active — and the government has been given yet another deadline to sort it out. On April 22, 2025, Ontario’s Superior Court granted the federal government until November 20 to revise part of the Citizenship Act that blocks certain children of Canadians from obtaining citizenship. It’s the fifth time the court has pushed back the deadline. At the centre of this legal standoff is something called the first-generation limit — a rule that stops Canadian citizens born outside the country from passing citizenship to their own children if those children are also born abroad. The restriction has caused confusion and heartbreak for families living overseas who assumed their children would automatically be Canadian. The first-generation limit was introduced in 2009. It created a new divide: Canadian citizenship could only be inherited by one generation born abroad. If a parent gained their citizenship because their own parent was Canadian — but they themselves were born outside Canada — their children were out of luck. In late 2023, that rule was struck down for violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court gave the government six months to amend the law. Instead of appealing, the government drafted Bill C-71, which aimed to reintroduce citizenship eligibility for children of Canadians who had lived in Canada for at least three years before their birth or adoption. But that bill never passed. Parliament was prorogued in January 2025, and the legislation died on the table. Since then, no permanent solution has replaced it. The federal government has rolled out temporary fixes, allowing affected families to apply for citizenship under a discretionary process. But that doesn’t replace actual legislative change — or restore automatic rights to children who should have qualified from birth. During the most recent court hearing, the government asked for another 12-month extension. Justice Jasmine Akbarali wasn’t sold on that request. Instead, she granted eight more months, emphasizing that the next government — elected on April 28 — must treat the issue with urgency. If no new law is passed by the November deadline, the court may declare the offending part of the Citizenship Act void. That would remove the restriction without a clear replacement, creating even more uncertainty. Akbarali was clear in her decision: people shouldn’t be denied their rights while lawmakers stall. Canada’s citizenship laws are complex, but leaving families in limbo isn’t an acceptable solution. With the clock now ticking — again — it’s up to the next government to decide whether fixing this long-standing issue will finally become a priority.