From Newcomers to Citizens: London Immigrants Embrace Canadian Identity
This week, Canada celebrated Citizenship Week, “a week to celebrate the rights and responsibilities shared by all Canadian citizens.”
During this week alone in 2023, more than 13,500 immigrants took their oath and become Canadian citizens, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said.
In honour of this week, the London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership and its fact-sharing group decided to look at the number of immigrants who have become citizens in the London region over the past few years.
According to the latest census data, in 2021 there were 115,605 immigrants in the London census metropolitan area, a region that also includes Strathroy, St. Thomas and portions of Elgin and Middlesex counties.
Of those, 83,300 were Canadian citizens, or about 72 per cent.
According to the historical data, about 94 per cent of all immigrants who arrived in 2000 or earlier have become citizens.
That number drops progressively from there until reaching a low of 4.5 per cent between 2016 and 2021, given that many immigrants are still ineligible to become citizens.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 98-10-0302-01 Immigrant status and period of immigration by place of birth and citizenship: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/9810030201-eng
Dina Eltom, co-ordinator of settlement and integration services at Northwest London Resource Centre, said she was not surprised to see that adoption figures of citizenship in the London region were so high.
According to her, becoming a Canadian citizen is probably the biggest milestone in the immigration journey for newcomers.
“Regardless of how they made the decision to come to Canada, whether it was to better their lives for their family, education or finding better living conditions, becoming a Canadian citizenship is the ultimate goal for them,” she said.
But reaching that milestone can be even more meaningful for people who have fled war-torn countries or who were forced to leave their homes due to prosecution or violence.
In many cases, becoming a Canadian citizen brings a sense of belonging for immigrants and the feeling they are truly now at home, Eltom said.
“Having worked as a frontline worker for years and years, you hear firsthand from (immigrants) that . . . even though there are assurances, ‘You're welcome to stay, you have the status, you're able to stay for as long as you want to,’ they feel that that is only solidified when they receive that Canadian citizenship,” she said.
“I’ve seen them just break down and cry, bawling while sharing the good news . . . because they feel now that they finally belong somewhere.”
Though Statistics Canada doesn’t provide a reason why a certain percentage of immigrants do not take the step of becoming citizens, Eltom believes that for some people, especially for older generations, gaining a new citizenship may be seen as cutting ties with their origins.
“For whatever reason, in their mind, they feel that they might lose their ties with their home countries,” she explained.
“I know, for instance, if my father was still alive, he would’ve been content with just being a permanent resident. To him, it ties to the loyalty to his home country.”
Eltom also said all immigrants who become Canadian citizens understand it is a privilege and that, with it, also comes responsibilities.
“That’s their train of thought,” she said. “To be part of this community means you have a responsibility to the community overall and to your new country, and many of them are just anxious to start giving back.”