The Imperial Presidency, Part 2

[robkelk]

Millions of Americans can now claim Canadian citizenship by descent. But they have to prove it

Prior to Bill C-3, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act (2025), citizenship by descent for those born abroad was limited to the first generation.

But now, Canadian citizenship is being retroactively granted to people born before the new law came into effect on Dec. 15, 2025, who would have been citizens if not for the first-generation limit.

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The change in law came following a 2023 Supreme Court of Canada decision that found the first-generation limit was unconstitutional, making the certificate “the hottest ticket in 2026,” according to Cassandra Fultz, a regulated Canadian immigration consultant.

You can't just say that you have Canadian ancestors and expect to get citizenship, though. You have to prove it.

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U.S. customs searched a record number of electronic devices last year

Officers searched 55,318 computers, cellphones and other devices in 2025, up 17.6 per cent from the 47,047 devices searched in 2024 and up 32.4 per cent from the 41,767 devices searched in 2023, according to statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

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While searches of devices for non-U.S. citizens has been gradually rising, the number of searches of devices belonging to American citizens has risen sharply — from 8,657 in 2023 to 13,590 in 2025.

Last year, the Canadian government updated its travel advisory for the United States to warn that U.S. customs officers have the power to search phones and laptops at the border. U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra pushed back, saying searches of electronic devices were isolated events.

On the Canadian side of the border, the number of searches and the percentage of passengers whose electronic devices have been searched by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) while entering Canada is much lower and has been declining in recent years.

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Greenlanders should still worry about Trump's designs on their island, Governor General says

(Yes, Canada has a Governor and a Prime Minister. One handles matters of state, the other runs the government. Don't mix them up.)

Although U.S. President Donald Trump's interest in taking over Greenland appears to have faded — at least publicly — Canada's Governor General says concern remains that the fight over the semi-autonomous territory isn't over yet.

"Even though the threat has kind of gone to the wayside … People are still very worried it could come back," Gov. Gen. Mary Simon said in an interview airing Sunday morning on Rosemary Barton Live.

"It creates a lot of anxiety. It creates a lot of turmoil," she added.

Simon, Canada’s first ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs and a former ambassador to Denmark, said she's told Greenlanders that Canada supports them and the Danes, who control the territory's foreign policy and defence.

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Video (14:51): The unanswered question in the U.S.-Israel war on Iran: Why?