Canadians of convenience

Part of a series on
Canadian citizenship
Immigration
Nationality
Legislation
Agencies
Issues
Demographics
flag Canada portal

"Canadians of convenience" is a pejorative referring to individuals with Canadian citizenship who live permanently outside of Canada without "substantive ties" to Canada.[1] Some definitions use the term to refer to persons who immigrate to Canada, meet the residency requirement to become a naturalized citizen, and then return to live in their original home country while maintaining their Canadian citizenship.[2] The term implies that these citizens only acquire or maintain their citizenship for personal gain or to otherwise benefit from Canada. For example, so that they may call on the Canadian government for protection in the event of an emergency, or to be able to travel internationally with a Canadian passport.[3]

The term was popularized in 2006 by Canadian politician Garth Turner in response to the evacuation of Canadian citizens from Lebanon during the 2006 Lebanon War.[4] Statistics and analyses are unavailable on the distinction between evacuees who were long-term residents of Lebanon and those who were not and on how many of the long-term residents had returned to Lebanon immediately after acquiring their Canadian citizenship.

  1. ^ McGregor, Glen (14 January 2009). "New immigration rules create two-tier Canadians: critics". National Post. Canwest News Service. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  2. ^ Frum, David (23 February 2019). "What Does It Mean to Be a Canadian Citizen?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference macleans was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).