Why Mark Carney is dropping both his Irish and U.K. passports
Dual, never mind triple, citizenship can make life complicated for a prime minister
St. Patrick's Day may be just around the corner, but it seems Mark Carney can no longer truly claim to be Irish, as Canada's new prime minister moved to renounce both his Irish and U.K. citizenships, prior to starting his new job.
Carney had acquired Irish citizenship through his family ancestry and got his U.K. passport while working overseas as the governor of the Bank of England.
He has said that, while many MPs have multiple citizenships, "as prime minister, I should only hold one."
Indeed, several million Canadians report holding more than one citizenship, while very few prime ministers have done the same.
Having ties to more than one country can complicate a politician's life.
"It's less complicated if you just have one citizenship," said Kathy Brock, a professor emerita of politics at Queen's University. Being entrusted with state secrets can prompt voter concerns about loyalties if more than one citizenship is in the mix, she says, and that's separate from any attacks from political opponents along the same lines.
Brock sees the renunciations as Carney signalling his commitment to his new job.
It could not only help him on the domestic front, but could also prevent a possible line of attack from south of the border.
"Think about it if Carney did have British and Canadian citizenship and how much fun [U.S. President Donald] Trump would have with that," she said, suggesting it could allow Trump to prod Carney over whose views he was representing.
There's no rule against prime ministers having dual citizenship but, says Laura Stephenson, a Western University professor of political science: "You want your prime ministers to be dedicated to the country that they're governing."
A short list
Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, points out that there wasn't such thing as Canadian citizenship until 1947. So any prime ministers before then wouldn't have faced this issue.
In fact, three of the earliest — John A. Macdonald, Alexander Mackenzie and Mackenzie Bowell — were born on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Likewise, the English-born John Turner held dual citizenship during his brief tenure as prime minister in 1984. But the six who followed Turner did not.
Canada's opposition leaders, however, have recently and repeatedly been confronted on this issue.
Stéphane Dion, then the newly crowned Liberal leader, said in 2006 he would reluctantly renounce his French citizenship if he became prime minister.
Tom Mulcair likewise faced questions over his Canada/France dual citizenship before he became the federal leader of the New Democrats.
While he initially slammed suggestions that having two citizenships somehow made a person less loyal to Canada, Mulcair later pledged to renounce his French citizenship if he became PM.
These pressures were put on them despite their roles not being equivalent to a sitting prime minister.
"They're not in the same role, " said Stephenson, at Western. "They're not speaking on behalf of Canada on the world stage."
In 2019, reports emerged that Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was a citizen of Canada and the U.S. He made it known he was in the process of renouncing his U.S. citizenship. However, the Tories lost that year's election and Scheer said later that he'd halted the renunciation, as he wasn't going to become prime minister.
Brock says if Carney were heading into his new job with dual Canadian-U.S. citizenship, that would be "a serious problem," given the current political climate — not that it was necessarily that much more hospitable before this.
She recalls the criticisms levied against former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, over the time he had spent merely living in the United States — without citizenship.
Carney could face similar attacks from his opponents.
"Mark Carney lived in Britain, he's going to have to answer for that. So, he doesn't want to have to answer about the citizenship question, as well, in an election," Brock said.
Canada's new prime minister will not face obstacles dropping these ties, based on the listed criteria.
Irish adults living outside of the country can renounce their citizenship, as long as they have an equivalent standing with another country. The process can unfold quickly, according to Ireland's Justice Department.
"An individual ceases to be an Irish citizen with effect from the date of lodgement of the Declaration of Alienage. A confirmation response of this process is typically issued by the Citizenship Division within one week," Ireland's Justice Department told CBC News in a statement.
The U.K. government has similar requirements. The Home Office told CBC News that such requests typically take six months to complete, but "are normally concluded sooner."
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