Canada ready to celebrate Citizenship Week

Today marks the start of Canadian Citizenship Week, with more than 4,000 people set to become Canadian citizens at 49 ceremonies held across the country.

Already this year, more than 70,000 people have already become Canadian citizens, bringing the number of new Canadians welcomed by the country to over 1,750,000 in the past ten years alone.

“During Citizenship Week, I encourage everyone to engage and inspire each other, and celebrate our shared values, our achievements and our pride as Canadians,” said Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Ahmed Hussen. “This is a great time to reflect on what it means to be a Canadian and to be part of the Canadian family.”

The week will also see changes to the country’s citizenship act come into force (October 11th). These changes include: reducing the time permanent residents must be physically present in Canada before applying to become a citizen; amending the age range for applicants who must meet the language and knowledge requirements; and counting the days applicants spend in Canada as temporary residents or protected persons as half days toward their physical presence requirements, up to 365 days.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Canadian citizenship.

Article published 9th October 2017