Latest news with #CanadianCitizenship
CTV News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
‘We are better because you are here': Citizenship ceremony in Halifax welcomes 51 new Canadians
Sherah Obien, a new Canadian citizen, is seen in a photo from July 1, 2025. (CTV/Vanessa Wright) Canada Day has an even more special meaning this year for a group of people who received their Canadian citizenship. A total of 51 people from 18 different countries took part in a citizenship ceremony Tuesday held at the Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax. The ceremony brought together the families and loved ones of those becoming Canada's newest citizens to hear speeches and musical performances. 'Whether you arrived just a few years ago or decades ago, starting today, you're part of shaping the next chapter of that story,' Lena Metlege Diab, the federal minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, told the group at Tuesday's ceremony. 'Whether you came looking for economic opportunities to reunite with family or fleeing conflict, you have worked hard and shown resilience to reach the moment.' 'You chose Canada, and today I'm delighted to say that Canada is voting in favor of you,' says citizenship judge, Joan Mahoney. Sherah Obien, originally from the Philippines, says the experience of getting her Canadian citizenship was one she's waited for patiently. 'It's very emotional for me. It's amazing that I'm finally a Canadian citizen. I feel that all my hard work has been paid,' says Obien. After getting married and buying a house in Nova Scotia, Obien says she has decided to stay in the province, making her one of many in attendance. 'For those of you that are choosing to stay in Halifax, a special thank you for choosing Halifax. We are better because you are here,' says deputy Mayor, Toni Mancini. The gravity and responsibility of being Canadian could also be felt, as Mahoney explained a few of their rights. 'We have freedom of speech and freedom of thought. We have the important right to vote. And of course, you gain this right today and I hope you will take advantage of it at your first opportunity. You also have the right now should you choose to run as a candidate in a future election,' says Mahoney. Brad Pease and his family previously lived in Denmark, but have since settled in Tantallon, N.S. 'We're very proud to be Canadian now. It's nice to have roots in a place. I've lived as a guest or visitor for over 20 years and other countries. So, it's very meaningful to have roots and knowing that we're planning to stay here for a long time,' says Pease. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CTV News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Deportation fear to citizenship: Winnipeg family's journey comes full circle
CTV's Harrison Shin has the story of a family in Manitoba and their journey to becoming Canadian citizens. CTV's Harrison Shin has the story of a family in Manitoba and their journey to becoming Canadian citizens. A Winnipeg family once facing deportation is now preparing to officially become Canadian citizens. Six years ago, Luiz Antonio Rodrigues Bonito and his family were on the verge of being forced out of Canada. But today, they're celebrating a major milestone. All three members of the household—Luiz, his daughter Ana Sofia Rodrigues Suarez, and his wife—will be sworn in as citizens on Canada Day. 'I'm very, very happy,' said Bonito. 'All of my dreams come true.' Bonito, born in Brazil with Portuguese citizenship, grew up in Venezuela, where his family ran a successful business. Due to the escalating violence and political instability, they decided to flee for safety. Bonito applied for refugee status—but his claim was denied. The Canadian government told him he could safely return to Portugal, despite Bonito never having lived there. 'I know that when I get to Portugal, we'll be in trouble,' he told CTV News. Back then, Bonito feared for his future. 'I cannot do it because I must leave. I am not legal here,' he said at the time. But just six months after speaking to CTV News in 2019, Bonito and his family were granted permanent residency. 'They gave me a temporary permit, and then about six months after they gave me my permanent residency—for me and my family—and everything went fine,' he said. For Ana, the journey was equally stressful. 'I always felt very stressed and overwhelmed by it. I was very scared of what was going to happen next,' she said. Now a recent high school graduate, she's grateful for the way things turned out. 'I'm just glad that everything worked out.' Bonito said the support of Winnipeggers made all the difference. 'They say Winnipeg is the coldest city in the world,' he said. 'They are wrong. It's the most hot and warm because of the people.'
CTV News
01-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Family in Winnipeg now officially Canadian citizens
Winnipeg Watch CTV's Harrison Shin has the story of a family in Manitoba and their journey to becoming Canadian citizens.
Globe and Mail
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Today I honour the American who made me a better Canadian
First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at My sister and I became Canadian citizens when we were in our teens. Though we weren't required to take a test at that age, our mother still made us study the citizenship guide and grilled us on sample questions that would have stumped most people born here. I was nervous. Was cattle farming more important than lumber or cheese? Was Canada a constitutional monarchy, a federal democracy or a dictatorship? I knew it wasn't the latter, but the rest… I wasn't sure, so I just memorized the whole thing. We brought the required papers to a scheduled interview - social insurance number, birth certificate, landed immigrant status - and my mother made us take our report cards to prove we were straight-A students, just in case. A citizenship officer asked us a few questions then verified that all was in order. There wasn't the pomp and circumstance of a formal citizenship ceremony, but it was an important day, nonetheless. My mum made us a special Canadian dinner - steak, Sheriff mashed potatoes with Green Giant peas - and framed our new certificates. We all felt very patriotic. In Canada I found hard work, but also hope I never told my friends. They had no clue what my status had been before, or what it was now, and that was fine with me. The name of the game was to blend in, not draw attention to anything that made me different. But I was proud I could finally say I was Canadian, if asked. My teacher at the time was an American named Kelly Green. He felt Canada was the best country on Earth, a place of extraordinary natural beauty, exceptional freedoms and honourable values. His wife was Indigenous and visited our classroom occasionally to teach us about her heritage and traditions. But it was Mr. Green who taught us that the explorers were actually colonizers, that there'd been a rich history in our land prior to their arrival, and that there were many here who suffered inequities, even atrocities, as a result. We discussed national news and he introduced us to Canadian authors like W. O. Mitchell and Farley Mowat, but also Joy Kogawa and Gabrielle Roy. Critical thinking not bound by conformism was his mantra. Mr. Green gave us journals that we wrote in daily. On one occasion, his prompt was 'talk about something that made you proud.' Knowing only he would see it, I wrote about becoming a citizen and being relieved to belong after feeling like an outsider for so long. The next day, he asked me to stay after class - the kiss of death for any teen. With a huge grin, he said, 'Your entry was wonderful. I'm so happy you and Canada have chosen each other. This is a big deal.' He handed me two books with such pride, I squirmed. One was Pierre Berton's Why We Act Like Canadians. A compilation of personal letters to an American friend on what defines our national character, it had taught him a lot about his adopted country. The other was a copy of that year's Writer's Market, signed, 'With confidence and hope.' He said I had a great future ahead of me. The Canadian Dream is colder than I expected it to be Mr. Green's wife gave birth to their first child that year. He was thrilled his son was Canadian and spoke to us about what it meant to be a good citizen - whether born here or not - reminding us of our civic duty to shape and improve things for all. He warned us never to take democracy for granted, calling it the sine qua non of freedom. When we looked at him, confused, he wrote three words on the board in his bold cursive script: 'Without which, not.' In his view, Canada was 'God's country,' a beacon of light for the free world. And when he said it was a place you could do whatever you put your mind to, I believed him. I learned over time, it doesn't work that way for everyone. Canada's a complex mosaic, a wonderful work-in-progress with far to go. No country is perfect - each is ever-evolving. But during my career in government, I was fortunate to see the breadth and scope of our country's economic, geopolitical and human diversity and to work on critical initiatives, including humanitarian and international crises. Through it all, I often remembered Kelly Green's words and felt proud to be working for my province and country on issues that mattered to many. I never imagined Canadians would be thinking so much about sovereignty, about how much we love this place and how fiercely we must protect it, but here we are. I know there are many pressing issues currently, both domestic international, that must be addressed. But I also know that Canadian sovereignty is primordial at this time - the sine qua non of our moment. Mr. Green likely strayed from the curriculum, but he was a courageous and inspiring educator. I think back on that year as magical and revelatory. In these troubled times, I'm grateful, not just for the gifts he gave me in honour of my newfound citizenship, but for the insights he shared with us all. As an American who saw what made this country so unique and precious, he made a class full of teenagers better Canadians. Shirley Phillips lives in Toronto.
National Post
06-06-2025
- Politics
- National Post
What is citizenship by descent? Canada offers new way for some to become citizens
A new bill introduced in the House of Commons is offering a way for some to obtain Canadian citizenship. Article content Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act, was tabled by Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada (IRCC) Lena Metlege Diab on Thursday. The bill would automatically grant Canadian citizenship to anyone who would be a citizen today if it weren't for the first-generation limit or 'outdated provisions,' the federal government said in a news release. Article content Article content Article content Currently, most Canadian citizens who are citizens by descent cannot pass their citizenship onto a child born or adopted outside the country. Article content Article content The bill would also establish a new framework to allow for citizenship based on a Canadian parent's connection to Canada. The connection can be proven by demonstrating they lived in the country for at least three years, or 1,095 cumulative days, before the birth or adoption of a child. Article content The Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared that key provisions of the first-generation limit were unconstitutional in Dec. 2023. Article content 'The Government of Canada did not appeal the ruling because we agree that the current law has unacceptable consequences for Canadians whose children were born outside the country,' per the news release. Article content Article content The Court suspended its declaration until November 20, 2025, which means the current rules still apply until further notice, according to the federal government. Article content Article content Why was the citizenship by descent bill introduced? Article content 'The legislative amendments to the Citizenship Act made in 2009 by the Harper Conservatives restrict citizenship by descent to the first generation born abroad,' Diab's office told National Post in an emailed statement. Article content 'This has meant that individuals with a genuine connection to Canada are not recognized as Canadian citizens and has led to unacceptable consequences for Canadians whose children were born outside the country.' Article content The legislation was introduced to 'correct this, to remove the first generation limit, extending Canadian citizenship to 'Lost Canadians' beyond the first generation,' per the minister's office.
