Three of my father’s grandparents were born and raised in Canada - but migrated to the US about 1900. Which seems to firmly place me in this potential pool.
But every source I read,(including that produced by the Canadian Government) is lacking details in what options that opens up.
As a US citizen, can I apply for duel citizenship?; or is this a path toward separate Canada citizenship.
As a very uncomfortable (and retired) US citizen, I would like to explote rational options.
Dual citizenship isn’t bestowed by a government. It’s s state of being. Your American citizenship exists in a separate sphere, and if you apply for Canadian citizenship, it is unaffected.
If you apply, you’re essentially asking the Canadian government to grant you citizenship based on ancestry, which should be a straightforward matter of proving descent from a Canadian citizen, paying the fees, and waiting.
Just to add, some countries forbid dual citizenship, but it’s very common to have dual citizenship between the US and Canada. Citizenship in one country is neither an obstacle to obtaining residency status or citizenship in the other, but neither is it a help. My brother held both US and Canadian passports as he was a legal citizen of both.
Trump did issue an EO forbidding dual citizenship, but that does not have the power of law. It is only his instructions to his employees. Sadly, there is the danger that Border Patrol and other agents of the Executive Branch will treat it as if it were a law. So once you do this, I wouldn’t recommend returning until this regime has ended.