June 30, 2014 — Montréal, QC — More than 3,000 individuals from 135 countries became Canadian citizens at ceremonies held in downtown Montréal and Québec City this month, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced today.
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 recent changes to the Citizenship Act will further 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 April 2016.
Quick facts
- Since 2006, Canada has enjoyed the highest sustained levels of immigration in Canadian history¾an average of a quarter million newcomers each year.
- So far in 2014, Canada has welcomed approximately 122,000 new citizens.
- On June 19, 2014, Bill C-24, Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, became law. The new provisions strengthen the integrity of the citizenship system and reduce processing times for citizenship applications.
- Over 19,400 new citizens have been welcomed in Montréal so far in 2014¾more than double the number of newly naturalized Canadians over the same period in 2013.
“The increasingly high number of individuals taking on the full responsibility of citizenship and committing to Canadian values and traditions shows the high value of Canadian citizenship. It also demonstrates that our government’s efforts to improve the citizenship program and decrease wait times are working. On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to congratulate these new citizens, and welcome them to the Canadian family.”
Chris Alexander, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister
Alexis Pavlich
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
Building a stronger Canada: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) strengthens Canada’s economic, social and cultural prosperity, helping ensure Canadian safety and security while managing one of the largest and most generous immigration programs in the world.
