Thanks to citizenship ceremony hosted in Cochrane last Friday, 50 individuals can now officially call themselves Canadians.
“I am pretty excited and a little nervous,” said Momodou Jarju, 22.
Jarju, originally from Gambia, has been living in Canada for the past four years and as of last Friday now holds Canadian citizenship - it was Jarju’s first time in Cochrane.
“It is peaceful and relaxing here,” Jarju commented.
This was the first time in Cochrane’s history that the town hosted a Citizenship ceremony on Canada Day, thanks to the approval from Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada. The ceremony hosted by the Town was organized in partnership with The Town of Cochrane’s Equity and Inclusion Committee.
“We are immensely proud to do this today and were so excited when we got the official (approval) that we were allowed to do this,” said Natalie Germann, recreation and culture assistant with the town.
“It all falls in with our goals to make our community more inclusive and this is one our those small things that we can do to show as a town that we welcome everybody and everybody is home here.”
While none of the newly official Canadians actually reside in Cochrane, organizers said they are hopeful if the ceremony turns into an annual event, next year some Cochranites will be able to sworn in.
Some of the new Canadians had already been calling Canada a “home” for years.
Diane Froese, 47, originally from Illinois, USA, has already been living in Canada for a decade.
“I am so excited for today,” Froese beamed.
“And Cochrane is a nice place to host the ceremony, I have step-children and grandchildren here.”
There were other new citizens who had also visited Cochrane before and were in “awe” of the scenery.
“What a great place to host the ceremony, it is wonderful outside and it is near the river and by the mountains,” said Rachel Gedaliya, 36, originally from Israel.
Gedaliya has been in Canada for eight years and said she loves visiting Cochrane and is very proud to now officially be a Canadian.
“I am super excited,” Gedaliya said.
The citizenship ceremony was held at Mitford Park.
“I really hope this becomes an annual thing, so far it has been really nice and look at how happy everybody is,” Germann said.
“I am so happy this is happening, the town has been working on this since last July… to see it all come together is absolutely wonderful for us.”
The ceremony swore in 40 adults and 10 children from Britain, China, Hong Kong, Gambia, Guatemala, India, Israel, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Tanzania, the United States, Sudan, and Vietnam.
