Mississauga, ON—
Approximately 2,400 new citizens from more than 125 countries were welcomed to Canada at citizenship ceremonies held by Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Mississauga office over the past two weeks.
Ceremonies like these demonstrate how the government is working to make the citizenship program more efficient, helping more people realize sooner their dream of becoming Canadian.
The government’s proposed changes in Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act,will also reduce wait times by streamlining the decision-making process for citizenship. It is expected that these changes will bring the average processing time for citizenship applications down to under one year and that the current backlog will be reduced by more than 80 percent by 2015-2016.
Quick facts
- Since 2006, Canada has enjoyed the highest sustained levels of immigration in Canadian history—an average of 257,000 newcomers each year. Accordingly, the demand for citizenship has increased by 30 percent.
- In 2013, 128,936 people were granted citizenship at ceremonies across Canada—an average of 10,745 each month.
- More than 19,200 people from 193 countries became Canadian citizens at citizenship ceremonies held across Canada over the month of February 2014, almost 100 percent higher than the same period last year (February 2013).
- For a new Canadian, the citizenship ceremony marks their formal entry into the Canadian family. A citizenship ceremony is a unique part of Canadian civic life. It is one of the few occasions when we formally reflect on the rights, responsibilities, privileges and benefits of being a Canadian citizen.
Quote
“Our government views citizenship as a pledge of mutual responsibility and a shared commitment to values rooted in our history. We are proud to welcome our newest Canadian citizens. We look forward to their full participation in Canada’s economy and Canadian society. Our government will continue to improve Canada’s citizenship program to ensure deserving applicants can become citizens more quickly.”
– Chris Alexander, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister