House of Commons, Committee on Citizenship and Immigration
Brief: the oath of citizenship in the Schedule to the Citizenship Act, and a study under Standing Order 108(2).
The letter ·
Brief for the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration: the oath of citizenship in the Schedule to the Citizenship Act, with a request for a study under Standing Order 108(2)
Hello,
Danilo Dzyuban, Ottawa. This is a brief for the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and a request that the Committee undertake a study under Standing Order 108(2). The text follows.
BRIEF TO THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
The oath of citizenship: allegiance runs one way
Submitted by Danilo Dzyuban, Ottawa, Ontario
30 September 2026SUMMARY
Every new citizen of Canada swears allegiance to a person and to that person's heirs and successors. The Schedule to the Citizenship Act, as published on the Justice Laws Website and captured on 28 September 2026, sets out the oath to "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors". Queen Elizabeth the Second died on 8 September 2022. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada administers a different text, to "His Majesty King Charles the Third". Its page "Citizenship ceremony: What to expect at the ceremony", captured on 29 September 2026, sets that text out.
Parliament amended the Schedule by ordinary statute in 2021 (S.C. 2021, c. 13, s. 1), so the Schedule can be amended again. This brief sets out the record and 4 recommendations.
THE TEXT
Section 24 of the Citizenship Act requires the oath or affirmation of citizenship set out in the Schedule. The Schedule reads:
"I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada, including the Constitution, which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen."
The words "including the Constitution, which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples" entered the Schedule by S.C. 2021, c. 13, section 1. Parliament changed the oath by an ordinary Act.
THE PERSON
In Motard, 2019 QCCA 1826, the Court of Appeal of Quebec held that whoever is King of the United Kingdom is King of Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal. The oath binds the citizen to a person chosen by the law of another country, and to that person's heirs and successors.
THE RECORD OF 2025 AND 2026
The citizen swears to the King. The record shows no reciprocal undertaking to Canada.
THE PRECEDENT OF A LEGISLATURE
On 9 December 2022 the National Assembly of Quebec passed Bill 4 and the Lieutenant Governor assented to it the same day. The Act, S.Q. 2022, c. 30, recognizes the oath in the Act respecting the National Assembly as the sole oath required to sit in the Assembly. The oath in Schedule I of that Act reads: "I, (name of the Member), declare under oath that I will be loyal to the people of Québec and that I will perform the duties of Member honestly and justly in conformity with the constitution of Québec." Members of the National Assembly sit today on that oath alone.
On 26 October 2022 the House negatived, 266 to 44, a motion of the Bloc Québécois to sever ties between the Canadian State and the British monarchy, in Vote No. 199.
THE REQUEST BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT
On 29 September 2026 a request under the Access to Information Act went to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. It asks for the authority under which the Department administers the oath to "His Majesty King Charles the Third" while the Schedule names Queen Elizabeth the Second. The answer is due on 29 October 2026.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. That the Committee undertake a study, under Standing Order 108(2), of the oath of citizenship set out in the Schedule to the Citizenship Act.
2. That the Committee order Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, under Standing Order 108(1)(a), to produce the instrument under which it administers an oath whose text differs from the Schedule, with the number of persons who took the oath in each form since 8 September 2022.
3. That the Committee recommend to the House that the Schedule be amended to read: "I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Canada, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada, including the Constitution, which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen."
4. That the Committee obtain the opinion of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel on whether the amendment in recommendation 3 is within the power of Parliament acting alone, as the amendment of 2021 was, and report that opinion to the House.
The record, with its sources and a checksum for each capture, is published under my name at https://dzyuban.com/reformation/.
WHAT YOU ARE TO DO
Distribute this brief to the members of the Committee and confirm the date of distribution in writing. Place the request for a study before the Chair for the next meeting on committee business, and state that date in writing. Answer by 14 October 2026, with a name and a title. The answer, or its absence, is recorded with its date at https://dzyuban.com/reformation/.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
SOURCESCitizenship Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29, section 24 and Schedule: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-29/FullText.html
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, "Citizenship ceremony: What to expect at the ceremony": https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/become-canadian-citizen/citizenship-ceremony/expect.html
Motard c. Procureur général du Canada, 2019 QCCA 1826
National Assembly of Quebec, Bill 4 (43rd Legislature, 1st Session): https://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/travaux-parlementaires/projets-loi/projet-loi-4-43-1.html
Act respecting the National Assembly, CQLR c. A-23.1, section 15 and Schedule I: https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cs/A-23.1
House of Commons, Vote No. 199, 26 October 2022: https://openparliament.ca/votes/44-1/199/
No answer by 14 Oct