Ontario: Heart, Soul, or Brand? (The Agenda with Steve Paikin)
26.04.2017
Venue
Toronto Pearson International Airport, Toronto, Ontario
Theme
Black History Month
On February 10th, 2023, we were honoured to host a citizenship ceremony at Toronto Pearson International Airport. We are grateful to have been provided with such a memorable ceremony venue to welcome new citizenship candidates, their friends, family, and community members.
Citizenship Judge Hardish Dhaliwal administered the Oath of Citizenship, the final step that the 39 people from 20 countries took to become Canadian citizens.
39
Number of New Citizens
20
Number of Countries
The enhanced ceremony featured our signature roundtable discussion, inspired by Indigenous Talking Circles, which are traditionally spaces of inclusiveness and equality. Following the roundtable discussions, the share back portion of the day saw the soon-to-be new citizens speak of their journey to this moment.
A new Canadian shared his thoughts on the important things those seated at his roundtable had in common.
We have shared our different experiences” one roundtable participant said. Some of us have been here for a decade, and some of us have been here for five years. But the one unifying factor is that we are all here together, and we are all going to celebrate this ceremony together… despite the winter – we all make compromises in life. We do love this country, and we are excited for those of us who are going to be citizens, and we are looking forward to the future.”
ICC Enhanced Citizenship Ceremonies provide a rare opportunity for established Canadians to connect with new Canadian citizens and hear about their journeys to citizenship.
Photos of the citizenship ceremony can be found here.
If you’d like to participate in this unique and unifying experience firsthand and volunteer as a roundtable host at one of our ceremonies, please contact ceremonies@inclusion.ca.