The Canadian government announced in late 2019 that it would waive application fees for new Canadian citizenship applicants.
The pandemic delayed these plans, and then Canada held a federal election. Justin Trudeau, the leader of Canada's Liberal Party, asked his new immigration minister, Fraser, to keep his campaign promise and waive citizenship fees after the party's third consecutive victory.
This is outlined in Fraser's ministerial mandate letter, which describes his top immigration priorities. However, the Canadian government will need more time to fulfill its pledge to waive citizenship fees.
The citizenship rate in Canada is one of the highest in the world, with about 85% of permanent residents becoming citizens. Approximately 250,000 people became citizens annually prior to the pandemic.
However, some advocates argued that citizenship fees created barriers to citizenship for low-income people. This explains why the federal government moved forward with its plan to waive fees altogether.
According to a 2019 Liberal policy document, the government expects Canadian citizenship applications to increase by 40% by 2024.