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Comment by wenc | Hacker News Reader

So, when a Canadian adopts U.S. citizenship, they don't automatically cease to be Canadian unless they choose to renounce their citizenship. Dual citizenship is recognized.

According to Wikipedia, Alex moved to the U.S. in 1973 at the age of 33, became a U.S. citizen in 1998 at the age of 58. Trebek is very much regarded as a Canadian, even in Canada. (RIP)

One of the favorite pastimes Canadians have is that of pointing out Canadians whom people think are Americans. Peter Jennings (also RIP) and Alex Trebek are usually the first two that come to mind. Then there's Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Joni Mitchell, etc. Recently I learned that HN's dang and sctb are Canadians too [1]...

[1] https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/th...

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> Peter Jennings (also RIP) and Alex Trebek are usually the first two that come to mind.

But they are americans. They chose to immigrate to the US and become americans. They didn't choose to be canadians. The only reason anyone knows about them is because of what they achieved in america as americans. They couldn't choose where they were born, but they could choose where they lived and died. Both chose america.

> One of the favorite pastimes Canadians have is that of pointing out Canadians whom people think are Americans.

Isn't it more like canadians pointing out the people who left canada to become americans? Isn't it rather pointing out canada as a failure and america as a success?

Contrary to popular mythology (mythology that is reinforced by the text of the citizenship oath but repeatedly rejected by US courts as representing the actual law), you don't (unless the foreign country requires it) have to give up foreign citizenship or nationality when becoming a US citizen, so generally people who become Americans retain whatever nationality they had before in a very real and legal sense as well as potentially retaining their former national identity.

So, no, “immigrated to the US” does not mean “stopped being Canadian”, in either the sense of identity or legal citizenship.

Of course they chose to be Canadian. You can renounce citizenship, see: Conrad Black.

> whom people think are Americans.

But he is an American. Dual citizenship doesn’t mean he isn’t American.

Correct. I should qualify that by saying are "just Americans".

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