Given that they regularly eat the fuzz off of deer antlers* after they are shed, I am open to any odd dietary choices from porcupines.

*this odd porcupine factoid was of great amusement to one of our kids when they were of kindergarten age and liked to play the “guess what animal I am game.”

As frustrating as it may be, my best recommendation is to borrow basic cookbooks from reputable authors from a public’s library or online library.

Here’s one that we have that has recipes that work:

https://archive.org/details/newcanadianbasic0000ferg

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7643452M/The_New_Canadian_Basics_Cookbook

You will need to build some techniques and learn to measure and to follow recipes to start.

This means learning to decode what recipes are telling you and replicate what they say. It means not making substitutions until you can predict what the outcomes will be.

It also means to be willing to do repetitive and tedious tasks.

In the past, we learned this from family, helping and picking up basic skills.

Now it’s harder. In theory, cooking videos could and should help but when the emphasis of cooking videos is to perform and get views, it’s not so successful as it could be.

Start with some simple recipes with not too many ingredients and not elaborate ones with complex techniques.

The law looks back further than Confederation. This was addressed in previous amendments to the Act.

It has to since Canada didn’t have independent citizenship legislation until 1947.

Even if you and others don’t want to get citizenships in place for yourselves, it would be important to get it in place and document time in Canada, as future generations born after December 15, 2025 will have to have parents who spent 1095 in Canada.

You should look further back up your tree, especially if you family had settled in New England or New York State.

There were successful claims based on more than 4 generations back under the Interim measure in place while Parliament was considering legislative changes.

The Interim Measure was put in place, to satisfy the court ruling, based on the proposed legislation.

Since the bill wasn’t amended during the Parliamentary process, legal experts expect that the amended law will be applied/implemented consistent with the Interim Measure.

I would look at the FAQ on finding n documentation in the subreddit.

Family Search and Ancestry will help find Census records, birth certificates and baptismal records (for periods before civil registration which came quite late in several provinces).

Once you know where and when your Canadian ancestors were born, you will be in a good place to get a baptismal record from the appropriate provincial archives.

For this, it’s unlikely that you’ll need a lawyer.

However, if you’re looking for legal expertise, the two most experienced in citizenship by descent (practising in BC and Quebec) were guests on this recent Borderlines Podcast.

The citizenship law looks back before Confederation.

In fact, Canadian citizenship only came into existence in 1947. Canada has the separate constitutional authority from the 1930s but WW II held up the legislation.

Before 1947, Canadians were British subjects domiciled in Canada.

If they had status as British subjects domiciled in Canada pre1947, or domiciled in a predecessor colony before Confederation, that would be considered Canadian.

For example, they could have been born in the colony of Nova Scotia before 1867, or they could have moved from the UK to Nova Scotia and, effectively, become British subjects domiciled in Nova Scotia.

It’s worth the deep dive genealogically if you’re seriously considering applying for a certificate of citizenship.

This is a straightforward case as long as you were adopted when your mother had citizenship status and the adoption took place before December 15, 2025.

Whether your mum was born in Canada or a Canadian citizen by descent, you’ll need go through a two-step process with some help from your mum.

Step 1 - Your mother’s citizenship status needs to be confirmed by IRCC. When this is done, an identifier will be created so you can complete step 2.

Step 2 - your adoption is documented so that IRCC can provide a grant of citizenship.

Here is the page with the forms - they haven’t all been updated yet to say that the first generation limit doesn’t apply to your parent.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/application-canadian-citizenship-adopted-person.html

BanQ is an official archival database from the province of Quebec.

https://www.banq.qc.ca/

The subreddit has information in its ‘How to find Documents’ FAQ.

You’ll want to start here for a birth record.

https://www.archives.gov.on.ca/topic/birth-marriage-and-death/

You can claim on the basis of being British subjects officially domiciled in the colonies that joined Confederation.

You will need baptismal certificates rather than birth certificates as Nova Scotia did not begin civil registration of births until 1908 but the provincial archives will lead you to religious archives that can help.

There was a lot of movement back and forth across the border in the northeast.

All the law requires is one Canadian born or naturalized ancestor. This includes those who were actually British subjects domiciled in Canada or its predecessor colonies.

It is automatic, but you have to apply for the certificate of citizenship.

There are related regulations that have just been published in The Canada Gazette that will enable people to have a simplified process for formal renunciation of Canadian citizenship to Canadian authorities if they believe they may be Canadian citizens by descent.

The law is The Citizenship Act with Lost Canadians amendments that came into force on December 15, 2025.

The 2023 Bjorkquist decision on Lost Canadians found the first generation limit on citizenship by descent violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Parliament passed amendments in bill C-3 in early December.

For persons born after December 15, 2025, their new amendments to the Act will require Canadians born outside Canada to meet a 1095 day presence requirement, but the C-3 amendments effectively do away with the first generation limit on citizenship by descent for persons born or adopted before it came into effect.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-citizenship/become-canadian-citizen/eligibility/already-citizen.html

You don’t seem to understand the effect of C-3 coming into force.

If you were born to or adopted by any parent who can trace a line of descent back to a Canadian by birth or naturalization (or a British subject domiciled in Canada pre1947), then you are probably a Canadian citizen as of December 15, 2025.

For persons born or adopted after December 15, 2025, their Canadian parent born or adopted outside Canada will need to demonstrate 1095 days of presence in Canada prior to their birth or adoption.