This week, my husband Frank and I as well as 18 friends and family members attended the citizenship ceremony at Vincent Massey Collegiate.
Fifty new Canadians took the oath of citizenship.
Students of Vincent Massey Collegiate had made ceramic tiles with individual images for all the new Canadians. This is the tile that I received:
My tile was very appropriate because I came to Canada to marry Frank, the love of my life. Also I have come to love my new country Canada.
The new Canadians were asked to write what it meant to them becoming a Canadian citizen. This is what I wrote and is one of the statements Citizenship Judge James McCrae read aloud:
To me, becoming a Canadian citizen means: I’m proud to become a Canadian.
I love my new country and living in Manitoba – the heart of Canada – with its high blue prairie sky contrasted by the vast fields of canola and sunflowers.
However, what I prize the most is the community spirit. Living with people of many different backgrounds.
Friendly Manitoba – happy to make you my home.
Becoming a Canadian citizen this week was a wonderful and emotional experience for me. I am still beaming with joy.