Mapping the Discursive and Institutional Landscape of « Birth Tourism » and its Perceived Attack on Canadian Birthright Citizenship

Résumé / Summary
At their 2018 Party convention, the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) narrowly passing a non-binding resolution to refuse automatic citizenship to children “unless one of their parents is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident” (CPAC 2018), in an effort to “crackdown” on birth tourism – a term used to mark non-resident mothers who arrive with the sole intent of giving birth so that their child has a claim to Canadian birthright citizenship. Despite being a legal practice, political and public debate regarding the moral acceptability of birth tourism has intensified over recent years. Non-resident mothers accused of engaging in birth tourism are framed as “queue jumpers” and “system cheaters,” taking advantage of Canadian generosity and undermining the value of birthright citizenship. The CPC’s resolution is but one in a series of legislative and quasi-legislative attempts to eliminate birth tourism. While Parties have differed in their response, their conceptualization of birth tourism rests on three similar conclusions: birth tourism is on the rise in Canada, it demands some form of legislative response, and it is a disingenuous pathway to citizenship.

This talk will unpack these conclusions using findings from a SSHRC-funded project on the discursive and empirical dynamics of birth tourism in Canada. Which individuals born on Canadian soil are entitled to Canadian citizenship? How have contemporary narratives of citizenship and belonging implicated non-resident mothers and their families as threats to Canada’s citizenship program, the Canadian family, and Canadian society at large? These questions allow us to explore how calls for a legislative “crackdown” on birth tourism are part of a larger trend of furthering divides between deserving and undeserving migrants, ultimately making the already precarious citizenship status of certain individuals even more precarious.

La conférence aura lieu le mercredi 29 novembre 2023, 12h30 à 14h, salle R-3680 et en ligne

Une conférence de / A conference by
Megan Gaucher, département de droit et d’études juridiques, Université de Carleton

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