A significant number of Manitobans who have lost their Canadian citizenship are waiting for the federal Liberal government to help them.

A law in Canada required second-generation Canadians who were born outside Canada to re-apply for citizenship before turning 28.

The situation largely affects Mennonites who are second-generation Canadians born outside Canada, but unfortunately, many people weren't even aware of the need to re-apply and missed the deadline.

The nightmare situation stems from a technical glitch in several Latin American countries where thousands of Mennonites from Canada immigrated to in the 1920's ending up in countries like Mexico, Paraguay, and Bolivia.

Many of them got married there, and that's where the problem started. They were married by the church, and a country like Mexico doesn't recognize church marriages as being legal. As a result, their children were born out of wedlock, and they, along with their grandchildren and even great-grandchildren are not eligible to be Canadian citizens.

Several changes to Canadian legislation have been made over the years to close some of the loopholes and fix this problem, but it's rather complex because not everyone's situation and circumstances are the same.

"When we as Conservatives were in government we passed major legislation to close those loopholes hoping to fix that," said Candice Bergen, MP for the federal riding of Portage-Lisgar. "Unfortunately, today there are still an estimated 100 to 200 people who are still considered "Lost Canadians" because some of the loopholes have not been closed. Some of those people are Mennonites living in my riding who are being told that they are no longer citizens. Anyone can imagine how terrifying that must be."

The federal Liberal government is aware of the situation and has not generally deported anyone caught in this predicament.

The Trudeau government has promised to bring in legislation to fix the situation but has yet to move on the issue.

"Because some of these cases are so complicated it could be difficult for one piece of legislation to fix it all because there are so many different scenarios. Needless to say, there should be a solution so that people don't have to go through this trauma and fear being told you are not a Canadian citizen when they've been living here and working and raising a family. That's terrible for anybody to hear, which is why we are asking the Liberal government to look at correcting all of the scenarios that need to be corrected," Bergen said.

She added constituents in her riding who find themselves in this situation can call her office for assistance in correcting the situation so that they can maintain their citizenship.

"I want to help people through this, so I guess my message to folks in the riding who are going through this is 'don't panic.' They can call my office, because there is a way to navigate through it, and I am committed to helping constituents get this rectified."