Which current Canadian senators hold dual citizenship and what countries are they citizens of?
Executive summary
Canada permits elected officials to hold more than one nationality, and dual (or multiple) citizenship among federal parliamentarians — including senators — is a documented and longstanding reality rather than an exceptional scandal [1]. Public reporting and past CBC/Global News surveys have counted dozens of parliamentarians with foreign birth or additional citizenships, but the sources provided do not supply a verified, up‑to‑date roster naming which sitting senators today hold dual citizenship or which foreign citizenships they retain [2] [3].
1. Dual citizenship is legal and common among Canadian politicians
There is no statutory prohibition in Canadian federal law that bars members of Parliament or senators from holding citizenship of another country, and commentators and researchers have explained that dual nationality fits Canada’s immigration history and demographics [1]. National reporting has repeatedly documented that multiple citizenship among federal politicians is not rare: surveys and news investigations have identified scores of MPs and at least a dozen senators as foreign‑born or holding other citizenships in recent parliaments [2] [4].
2. What the sources do say about numbers and examples
Reporting cited here finds that, in past Parliaments, dozens of parliamentarians were foreign‑born and that at least 22 members of Parliament held dual or multiple citizenships in one recent count; CBC and other outlets also noted roughly a dozen senators among foreign‑born parliamentarians in some surveys [3] [2] [4]. Individual examples in the reporting focus on prominent MPs (Maryam Monsef, Salma Zahid) and party leaders (Andrew Scheer’s U.S. citizenship) rather than providing an authoritative list of current senators and their second nationalities [1] [3] [5].
3. Why a definitive list of “current senators with dual citizenship” is not present in the sources
The articles and background pieces provided aggregate counts, histories and case examples but do not offer an exhaustive, current roll‑call of serving senators and their foreign citizenships; the available reporting instead frames the issue in policy terms and compares Canada’s permissive approach to other countries’ rules [1] [6]. Where CBC and Global News have enumerated dual‑citizen parliamentarians, those counts applied to specific past parliaments and did not produce a continuously updated public registry of sitting senators and the countries of their other citizenships [2] [4].
4. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas in coverage
Coverage can tilt toward two competing frames: one that treats multiple citizenship as a benign reflection of Canada’s pluralism and mobility, advanced by academics and some politicians [1], and another that seizes on dual nationality as a potential question of loyalty or political optics — a frame that has driven controversies in other jurisdictions such as Australia and surfaced politically when party leaders’ foreign ties were scrutinized [3] [5]. Some outlets and commentators explicitly contrast Canada’s permissive approach with Australia’s stricter constitutional regime, which has led to removals of MPs and senators for dual citizenship — an implicit agenda used to argue either for reform or to defend Canada’s current rules [3] [6].
5. Bottom line and what would be needed for a definitive answer
The bottom line in the available reporting is clear: dual citizenship among senators exists and has been counted in past parliamentary surveys, but the sources provided do not identify a verified, current list of serving senators and the specific foreign citizenships they hold [2] [3]. Producing an authoritative, up‑to‑date roster would require direct disclosure from the Senate or from each senator, or a dedicated investigative compilation by a news organization that cross‑checks official records and personal statements — material not present in the documents supplied here [1] [4].