Honorary Canadian citizenship


Honorary Canadian citizenship is an honour bestowed on foreigners of exceptional merit following a joint resolution by both Houses of the Parliament of Canada.
Honorary Canadian citizenship is purely symbolic; the recipient does not receive any of the rights, privileges, or duties typically held by a Canadian citizen.

Recipients of honorary Canadian citizenship

#NameImageAward dateCountryNotes
1Raoul Wallenberg1985
Diplomat and humanitarian.
2Nelson Mandela2001Anti-apartheid activist, first post-apartheid President of South Africa, and recipient of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.
3Tenzin Gyatso2006
The 14th Dalai Lama and recipient of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.
4Aung San Suu Kyi2007Opposition leader and recipient of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. Revoked by parliamentary vote in 2018 in response to the Rohingya genocide.
5Karim Aga Khan IV201049th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.
6Malala Yousafzai2014Women's rights and education activist, and recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

Revocations

Canadian civil society groups and other protestors called for the revocation of Aung San Suu Kyi's honorary citizenship in response to UN allegations that the 2017 persecution by the Burmese military against the Rohingya, an ethno-religious minority group in Burma, was a form of ethnic cleansing. This included an online Change.org petition addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the House of Commons of Canada. The House of Commons voted unanimously on September 27, 2018 to revoke her honorary citizenship. The Senate of Canada approved a motion to the same effect unanimously on October 2, 2018. With revocation motions passed by both houses, the Government of Canada stated that it recognized Parliament's decision to revoke the honour.