Surfer Erin Brooks loses bid for Canadian citizenship

Erin Brooks won the Corona Saquarema Pro, an event on the World Surf League’s Challenger Series, last weekend in Brazil, but faces a bigger challenge away from the water.

The 16-year-old Brooks wants to compete for Canada in next year’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but her request for Canadian citizenship was recently denied, according to CBC Sports.

Brooks was born in the United States and grew up in Hawaii, but she does have Canadian blood through her American-born father, a dual American-Canadian citizen, and her grandfather who was born and raised in Montreal.

Although she’s young, she’s expected to be a medal favorite at Teahupo’o in Tahiti, where the Olympic surfing competition will be held, thousands of miles from Paris and Canada.

First, she needs to qualify for Paris, either as an American or Canadian.

She had to miss the Pan American Games in Chile, which offers the winner Olympic qualification, due to her citizenship issues. She could still qualify for Paris at the ISA World Championships in Puerto Rico in February 2024.

In a letter the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said Brooks “did not meet the requirements for citizenship.” In 2009 Bill C-37 ended the extension of Canadian citizenship to second-generation people born elsewhere.

“The application is refused on the basis that the applicant is not stateless, has not experienced special or unusual hardship or provided services of an exceptional value to Canada which warrants a discretionary grant of Canadian citizenship”: the letter stated.

Surf Canada supports Brooks’ request for Canadian citizenship and said they will appeal the denial to Federal Court.

Earlier this year the International Surfing Association suspended her eligibility to compete for Canada which kept her out of the Pan Am Games and ISA.