What are Mobility Rights?

Mobility Rights are one of the fundamental rights enjoyed by Canadian citizens. At their core, they guarantee that every citizen has the right to live and work anywhere they choose in Canada. A citizen born or naturalized in one province is not bound to remain there — they may pack up and relocate to any other province or territory without needing approval, a permit, or special permission from any government authority. The right covers both where a person may make their home and where they may earn a living.

These rights also extend to crossing Canada's borders. A Canadian citizen has the right to enter and to leave the country freely. This means a citizen abroad cannot be barred from coming home, and a citizen at home cannot be prevented from travelling internationally. The Canadian passport is the practical instrument that gives effect to this freedom of movement across international borders, allowing citizens to study, work, or visit family overseas and to return whenever they wish.

Mobility Rights sit alongside the other rights and freedoms that Canadian citizens enjoy. As the official guide reminds new Canadians, Canadian citizens enjoy many rights, but Canadians also have responsibilities — they must obey Canada's laws and respect the rights and freedoms of others. Mobility rights are therefore not absolute privileges divorced from duty; they are exercised within a framework of shared responsibilities and the rule of law that binds Canadians together as a single, united country.

Mobility Rights matter every day in modern Canada. They are why a worker in one province can move to another for a job, why a student from one part of the country can attend a university in another, and why a family can retire to the region they love without crossing any internal barrier. They also explain why Canadians who work or travel abroad are guaranteed re-entry to their own country. For new citizens taking the Oath, Mobility Rights are part of what it means to share fully in Canadian life — equal access to every region of a country built, as the official guide puts it, over 400 years of settlers and immigrants who contributed to its diversity and richness.