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Can the President of the USA be born in a foreign country?
Under U.S. law the President of the United States cannot be born in a foreign country.
This dates back to the post-Revolutionary era when it was feared that a British-born President might be more likely to put the U.S. back under the yoke of Britain.
I don't believe it is possible for a foreigner to have local values. Canada should not have a Prime Minister who does not have Canadian values from birth. If your son is as Canadian as everyone else, why does he have one foot in another country? Canadians don't have one foot in two countries - hedging bets on which country is better.
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With all due respect, this is a pretty ludicrous suggestion. Plenty of people have adopted Canadian values and culture after moving here at a wide range of ages.
I know people who have dual citizenship (mostly by birth-followed-by-migration or out of convenience because they "could) and who are totally loyal to Canada. And no, I don't think these people are sleeper agents for foreign countries just pretending to be Canadian in their hearts and minds.
I also know people who were born and raised in Canada who seem to have more loyalty to a foreign country (that of their parents or grandparents usually) even though they don't even have that country's citizenship and are legally only Canadian.
Finally, I've known more than a few Canadians born and raised who have a psychological affinity for the U.S. due to popular culture and media, and who treat American issues and society as if it was a kind of "home field" for them.
I'm first generation Canadian. If I agreed with you, then I would believe that people like my parents, landed immigrants delving into local culture, should have the opportunity to take over the country and impose their values on the country.
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This makes it sounds like Canada has no control over which people and how many people immigrate to the country. Immigration is not an uncontrolled invasion. Canada has a relatively liberal immigration policy because this is what it chooses to have. It can just as easily have a tighter one.
With all due respect, this is a pretty ludicrous suggestion. Plenty of people have adopted Canadian values and culture after moving here at a wide range of ages.
I know people who have dual citizenship (mostly by birth-followed-by-migration or out of convenience because they "could) and who are totally loyal to Canada. And no, I don't think these people are sleeper agents for foreign countries just pretending to be Canadian in their hearts and minds.
I also know people who were born and raised in Canada who seem to have more loyalty to a foreign country (that of their parents or grandparents usually) even though they don't even have that country's citizenship and are legally only Canadian.
Finally, I've known more than a few Canadians born and raised who have a psychological affinity for the U.S. due to popular culture and media, and who treat American issues and society as if it was a kind of "home field" for them.
My experience is different. I'm first generation Canadian and I cannot count the number of times I've been asked throughout my life about where I am from. My children, on the other hand, don't encounter that question. What that tells me is that regardless of how much I adopt and adapt as a Canadian, something of my upbringing shines through. It's not about chosen loyalties, but about inherent values that make us who we are and which we cannot shake regardless of what we do.
My experience is different. I'm first generation Canadian and I cannot count the number of times I've been asked throughout my life about where I am from. My children, on the other hand, don't encounter that question. What that tells me is that regardless of how much I adopt and adapt as a Canadian, something of my upbringing shines through. It's not about chosen loyalties, but about inherent values that make us who we are and which we cannot shake regardless of what we do.
My father, also a first generation Canadian, was called "The Russian" by the children of those who had immigrated in 1874 versus the children of those who came after the Russian Revolution. There were still further undefinable differences with those who came later still, after other wars.
I don't have much time to post now but I think that some people were traumatized enough by what their parents had gone through that they wanted or thought they had to obliterate their origins to belong in what was a very English Canada.
With all due respect, this is a pretty ludicrous suggestion. Plenty of people have adopted Canadian values and culture after moving here at a wide range of ages.
I know people who have dual citizenship (mostly by birth-followed-by-migration or out of convenience because they "could) and who are totally loyal to Canada. And no, I don't think these people are sleeper agents for foreign countries just pretending to be Canadian in their hearts and minds.
I also know people who were born and raised in Canada who seem to have more loyalty to a foreign country (that of their parents or grandparents usually) even though they don't even have that country's citizenship and are legally only Canadian.
Finally, I've known more than a few Canadians born and raised who have a psychological affinity for the U.S. due to popular culture and media, and who treat American issues and society as if it was a kind of "home field" for them.
Agree 100%. To suggest that those born in a foreign country can never adopt "Canadian values" is just ridiculous and ludicrous. As long as one holds Canadian citizenship, and subscribes to values prescribed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms - pretty much universal values recognized in most democratic societies (and are vigorously tested in Canadian citizenship exams and interviews) - then you are Canadian. End of story.
Many naturalized citizens I've met actually know much more about Canada's constitution and other basic civic knowledge than most locally born Canadians, because they often have to go through a rigorous immigration process and citizenship application process along with a written examination.
And lastly - what exactly are Canadian values? To me, they are pretty much universally recognized liberal democratic values. To suggest that people born in other countries can never adopt them is sheer idiocy. Tell that to the Hong Kong protesters, the 1989 Tiananmen students quashed by tanks, the East Germans risking their lives to cross the Berlin Wall, and the countless millions around the world fighting for those same universal rights and freedoms around the world at this very moment as we speak.
Many naturalized citizens I've met actually know much more about Canada's constitution and other basic civic knowledge than most locally born Canadians, because they often have to go through a rigorous immigration process and citizenship application process along with a written examination.
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My father, also a first generation Canadian, was called "The Russian" by the children of those who had immigrated in 1874 versus the children of those who came after the Russian Revolution. There were still further undefinable differences with those who came later still, after other wars.
I don't have much time to post now but I think that some people were traumatized enough by what their parents had gone through that they wanted or thought they had to obliterate their origins to belong in what was a very English Canada.
Interesting - almost like the opposite of German Angst, where generations of Germans cannot shake off the guilt of their WW2 ancestors. Much as people want to shake off their parents experiences, can they?
I like how things are done in the USA, where Presidents must be born in the states to run the country. With Canada rapidly becoming a country of all nations, where we see more block voting, maybe it's time to change the law.
My experience is different. I'm first generation Canadian and I cannot count the number of times I've been asked throughout my life about where I am from. My children, on the other hand, don't encounter that question. What that tells me is that regardless of how much I adopt and adapt as a Canadian, something of my upbringing shines through. It's not about chosen loyalties, but about inherent values that make us who we are and which we cannot shake regardless of what we do.
I wasn't saying that the experience you described doesn't exist or is even rare.
I am just saying that there are multiple experiences including those that I mentioned and many more, to the point where it's impossible to make generalizations and, most importantly, try and arrive at a public policy decision that would be acceptable and applicable.
If 95% of immigrants and their children had the same experience as you, then I might agree.
Interesting - almost like the opposite of German Angst, where generations of Germans cannot shake off the guilt of their WW2 ancestors. Much as people want to shake off their parents experiences, can they?
I like how things are done in the USA, where Presidents must be born in the states to run the country. With Canada rapidly becoming a country of all nations, where we see more block voting, maybe it's time to change the law.
I guess we could change the law if we wanted to. (Not seeing much of a groundswell over this out there in the real world.)
While Canada is totally sovereign from the UK it's interesting that the system that inspired ours does not have any restrictions even though it's an old world country with more nativist tendencies than a new world country like ours. The current PM was actually born in New York City but he has renounced any claims to U.S. citizenship.
Bonar Law of Rexton, New Brunswick was once the British PM a long time ago.
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