January 16, 2017

Canada Celebrates 70th Anniversary of Canadian Citizenship

Recently, Canada celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Canadian Citizenship Act and the first time that Canadian citizenship was recognized as a legal status. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) marked the occasion by hosting a citizenship ceremony at the Supreme Court of Canada for 26 people. These 26 individuals added to the more than a million and a half people who have become Canadian citizens just over the last 10 years.

Before the Canadian Citizenship Act came into effect 70 years ago, all Canadians were legally considered as British subjects. The first to become a Canadian citizen under the Act was then-Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. His words at Canada’s very first citizenship ceremony were repeated on the occasion last week at the Supreme Court of Canada: “without citizenship, much else is meaningless.” 70 years later, and those words still ring true.

To learn more about Canadian Citizenship, please click here.

(Sources)