{"id":5755,"date":"2017-04-05T15:04:20","date_gmt":"2017-04-05T19:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=5755"},"modified":"2025-09-30T10:43:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:43:19","slug":"canadian-citizenship-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/canadian-citizenship-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Canadian Citizenship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Celebrating Canadian Citizenship\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

In celebration of its 75th<\/sup> anniversary, Carleton University hosted a special Canadian citizenship ceremony for 40 new Canadians, including 11 former and current Carleton students and two professors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The April 4 ceremony was organized in partnership with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada<\/a> (IRCC) and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship<\/a> (ICC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prior to the swearing-in ceremony, candidates engaged in roundtable discussions about what Canada and becoming a Canadian citizen means to them. A representative from each table shared their thoughts with the assembled crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a wonderful day for Canada and it\u2019s all because of you,\u201d said Presiding Official George Springate, former senior citizenship judge and a member of the Order of Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was joined on the podium by Carleton President Roseann O\u2019Reilly Runte and ICC Volunteer Committee Chair Barbara Clubb.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cCanada is special because of the people who are here,\u201d said Dr. Runte.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThank you, new Canadians, for sharing your knowledge and your customs and your language with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Springate invited the 40 candidates for Canadian citizenship to stand and recite the Oath of Citizenship. The new citizens accepted their certificates, signed their oaths and received mini Canadian flags to commemorate the special event. The Carleton Chamber Singers<\/a> led the room in an acapella rendition of O Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Canadian Citizenship:
\nBeing Part of Canadian Culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m from India, but I\u2019ve had the opportunity to live around the world,\u201d said Ankash Naresh, who moved to Canada five years ago. \u201cBeing a Canadian is a wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Canadian culture. The people here are great, the atmosphere is wonderful. It\u2019s a great place to be and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming a new Canadian opens doors to opportunities in employment and civic participation that were unavailable to them as residents.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI work for the government, so not having my citizenship was really a hindrance to me getting a permanent position,\u201d said Meenakshee Proag, a Carleton graduate originally from Mauritius.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cNow everything \u2013 my whole life \u2013 is going to change career-wise. Also, the right to vote, the right to choose the leader to lead the country, means a lot to me. They are the ones who are going to influence policies of Canada and that\u2019s going to influence us in return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The importance of acquiring the right to vote and a sense of belonging were echoed by many of the new citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt heart, I feel both Korean and Canadian, but on paper I was never actually Canadian,” said Carleton student Julia Kim, who came to Canada when she was two years old,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo to me, this is like: \u2018Welcome, finally, 20 years later.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou feel a part of this community,\u201d said Carleton student Shrey Shree, originally from India. \u201cYou feel more connected now because you\u2019re a citizen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Campus Ceremony a Gift<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many students noted how special it was that the ceremony was occurring at the university, a place where they feel comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis ceremony at Carleton feels like it\u2019s welcoming me to my home now,\u201d said Tarek Issa, who came to Canada from Syria five years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cAs a Carleton student, and it\u2019s occurring at Carleton, it feels like a homecoming gift.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Student Noor Alkhalili, originally from Jordan, said becoming a citizen is an important milestone in a year full of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019m graduating this year, I got my engineering ring this year, it\u2019s Canada\u2019s 150th<\/sup> anniversary, and I\u2019m getting [my citizenship] at Carleton . . . Also, I\u2019m a feminist and seeing all the women out there (becoming citizens) is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raul Razo-Garcia, an associate professor of economics<\/a> at Carleton who is originally from Mexico, became a citizen alongside two of his young children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n