Policy and Research Implications

Policy Implications

• Canadian citizens are ineligible to vote in Canada after five years abroad. As a result, approximately 1.4 million Canadian citizens around the world cannot vote in Canada;
• Second generation children born abroad to naturalized Canadian parents will not obtain Canadian citizenship, and may even become stateless;
• Taxation is always a contentious issue. However, the current Canadian taxation system is based on resident status and discourages Canadians abroad from maintaining ties to Canada.

These issues, among many others, highlight the fact that some policies in Canada related to its citizens abroad are problematical

• Inconsistent laws pertaining to the rights and obligations of Canadians living abroad;
• Absence of a clear definition of the relationship between Canada and its citizens overseas;
• Lack of accurate and updated knowledge in Canada about Canadian citizens living abroad;

Key policy challenges that may improve the situation:

Recommendations

• Canada has to learn from other countries‟ experience to develop a better policy towards its citizens overseas, and it should include the following features:

1. An assessment of the attachment of Canadians abroad to Canada should be based on evidence from multi-dimensions;
2. Canadian laws related to citizens abroad must be consistent with the Charter of Rights, and any content that discourage their participation in Canadian life should be revisited, such as the Acts on voting rights and citizenship rights and obligations;
3. A federal agency should be established to coordinate policy affecting Canadians abroad and encourage their attachment to Canada;
4. More resources are needed for the retention of immigrants if some of the negative consequences of out-migration (such as labor market shortages) are to be redressed;