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VANCOUVER — Byrdie Funk had what some would call a quintessential, small-town Canadian upbringing.

At two months old, she moved from Mexico with her Canadian parents to a farming community in southern Manitoba. She learned to skate on a backyard pond and trudged between snowdrifts to school, where she would stand with fellow students to sing the national anthem before class.

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She used her Canadian passport to travel to South Africa, toting a suitcase sporting the maple leaf, and was later married at a historic trading post on the banks of Winnipeg’s Red River.

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Here is a timeline of the most significant milestones in the snakes and ladders of Canada’s citizenship legislation over the decades:

Naturalization Act (May 22, 1868): Prior to 1947, anyone born in Canada was technically considered a British subject.

Canadian Citizenship Act(Jan. 1, 1947): Canadian citizenship is legally created, along with special recognition for British subjects.