60 new citizens sworn in at Canada Place ceremony as families celebrate together
A citizenship ceremony on Canada Day saw people from the Philippines, Brazil, and Australia take the oath, with children and spouses cheering from the crowd.
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Sixty people became new Canadian citizens on Wednesday, July 1 at Canada Place during a ceremony that doubled as a celebration of family and perseverance.
Krystyn, a health support worker at Vancouver General Hospital in the ortho-trauma unit, was one of them. She'd arrived from the Philippines in 2017 as a caregiver, leaving behind her husband and daughter. "It was so hard to be separated. We had to sacrifice everything to do this for the family," she said. The pandemic extended their separation by five years before they reunited in Canada. Her daughter, now 15, has also received her citizenship certificate.
Amanda Albuquerque, 32, a digital marketing manager from Brazil, arrived for the ceremony in a brilliant scarlet dress with her fingernails painted in the Brazilian flag's colours. "I am very proud today. This is an honour," she said. "There were some very tough challenges coming here, especially during COVID, when I couldn't see my family for two years."
Christie Jaensch, 32, a hair stylist in the film and television industry originally from Australia, had the option to complete the ceremony via Zoom but chose to attend in person. "Zoom just didn't feel right. This is amazing," she said.
The event featured RCMP officers in red serge, bagpipers, and representatives of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. Citizenship judge Carol-Ann Hart spoke about the journeys newcomers had endured and welcomed them to "a place of mutual respect, safety and peace."
