May 1, 2014

Montréal welcomes more Canadians

Today May 1, 2014 approximately 750 individuals from 81 different countries were sworn in as Canadian Citizens in Montréal. With the pending implementation of Bill C-24 the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act this shows the efficiency of the Canadian Government helping more people to become Canadian Citizens in less time. With the proposed changes, it is expected that the average processing time for citizenship applications will be reduced to under a year.

For a new Canadian the citizenship ceremony marks their formal entry as Citizens of Canada. The ceremony is a unique part of becoming a citizen where we formally reflect on rights, responsibilities, privileges and benefits of being Canadian.

Since the start of 2014, Montréal has hosted 90 citizenship ceremonies, and welcomed 17,000 new citizens.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander had this to say.

“Our government is proud to welcome these new citizens to the Canadian family. A Canadian citizenship ceremony is a moving and emotional celebration that reaffirms one’s commitment to Canadian values and traditions. The impressive number of individuals participating in these ceremonies and taking on the full responsibility of Canadian citizenship demonstrates that our government’s efforts to improve the citizenship program and decrease wait times are working.”