Teen surfing sensation gets help in bid to compete for Canada at Olympics

Member of Parliament Jenny Kwan is calling on the federal government to help surfer Erin Brooks compete for Canada in next summer's Olympic Games.

The NDP critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship has asked Minister Marc Miller to step in and grant Brooks citizenship.

Kwan accuses the Conservative opposition in Ottawa of stalling an amendment to the Citizenship Act, Bill S-245, that restores citizenship rights for second-generation people born abroad. Bill C-37 in 2009 ended those rights.

Brooks was born in Texas and grew up in Hawaii. Her Canadian ties are through her American-born father Jeff, who is a dual American-Canadian citizen, and her grandfather born in Montreal.

The 16-year-old Brooks has competed under Canada's flag and won a silver medal at this year's World Surfing Games. She's also the reigning world junior women's champion.

Her bid for Canadian citizenship was recently denied, which made her ineligible to surf for Canada at the recent Pan American Games and also makes her ineligible to defend her world junior title next week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2023.