Becoming Canadian: Exploring Birth-based Citizenship

In this podcast episode, Simon Nantais speaks with Lois Harder about her book, Canadian Club: Birthright, Citizenship and National Belonging published by the University of Toronto Press in 2022. Harder explores how Canadians confronted situations in which the certainty of birthright citizenship turned out to be less secure and less unassailable than generally presumed. She particularly looks at the years from 1940s to the present and the development of the Citizenship Act of 1947. The book references court cases and media stories, and highlights “Lost Canadians,” people who discovered they had no legal right to claim their birthright. Harder ends the book with alternative approaches to forming political communities and looks towards a more just and democratic alternative to birth-based citizenship. Professor Lois Harder is a political scientist and the current Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Victoria. Her research interests include citizenship law, social policy, and family law. This podcast was produced by Jessica Schmidt. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.