Elbia Flores gently wipes the tears from her eyes after officially being sworn in as a Canadian Citizen during a special citizenship ceremony at Nipissing University Friday.
Originally from Mexico, she now lives in Sudbury.
With her voice shaking with emotion, Flores explains she was the last member of her family to be sworn in as a Canadian Citizen.
"Today was very important because I want my sons and husband to be proud of me. It was a very long time for me to decide to do it and it wasn't easy. I decided that I want to die a Canadian citizen because my sons are here, their kids are here, their wives, everybody is here. I was the only one who wasn't a Canadian citizen. And Canada is a beautiful country. We love it."
Flores is one of 48 new Canadians who took the Oath of Citizenship in North Bay, during what happens to be, Citizenship Week.
Cerino Romero Jr. arrived in Canada over four years ago from the Philippines. He now lives and works in North Bay. On Friday, Romero and his three children aged three, eight and 10 officially became Canadian citizens.
"I want to enjoy life and have the privilege of being a Canadian. When I was living in the Philippines I had a lot of friends that were Canadian citizens already. It has been my ambition to be a Canadian citizen. It's like my dreams have come true," says Romero. "Canadian citizens are the luckiest people in the world."
Rumbidzai Tanyanyiwa drove from Kapuskasing for the ceremony. Originally from Zimbabwe, Tanyanyiwa has been in the country since 2005.
"There's more rights and freedoms. I'm very excited. It's very emotional, I'm so proud to become a Canadian today."
Antima Patel and her husband came to Canada from India. The couple lives in Bracebridge with their eight-month-old baby Rishaan.
"This country is known as the land of immigrants. We love this country because people are so nice. This is the perfect place where we can settle down and have kids," says Patel. "I have lived here for almost five years now. I guess we will always feel the excitement of living here because every day is a new experience for us, we learn new things, and we meet new people. I can not express in words how emotional this is. It is a proud moment for us."
Tiffany Sarah Commins is from Melbourne, Australia. She has lived in Canada for nine years.
"I've always wanted to become a citizen. It's important to me because my family is Canadian, and I really want to vote, that is another important factor for me. And to be able to say that I am Canadian," explains Commins. "My son who is almost four was born here in Canada so he is already a Canadian and now so am I. We've been singing 'O Canada' together, so this was fantastic that we could be here together and he could sing it with me. It's very special."
Also special is becoming a citizen, as Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary, with its rich history and cultural diversification and everything else that goes along with that.
Following the Oath of Citizenship, each person was presented with a Certificate of Citizenship and their own small Canadian flag. Once the closing remarks concluded, they proudly stood and sang the national anthem, followed by some energetic flag waving and loud cheers.
