Sudbury ceremony helps dozens of immigrants become Canadian Citizens

Morning North6:15Meet some of Canada's newest citizens

49 people became Canadian citizens in Sudbury yesterday. The CBC's Samantha Lui was at the citizenship ceremony. She spoke with some of our newest Canadian citizens to hear their stories.

Forty-nine new Canadians from 25 different countries were welcomed in Sudbury this week.

Some had to travel to Sudbury from Timmins, Moosonee and Bracebridge to take part in the ceremony, which took place at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School.

Several of them emigrated from countries like China, England and Jordan.

Mark Riley moved to Canada from the United States more than 25 ago but he said it feels good to finally be an official Canadian.

"I left the United States when I was 29 and I thought, 'I'll wait until I'm over 29 [to go back to U.S.] so I have more time in Canada'," he recalled.

"But, it just became apparent that this is my home. I'll always be American and I'll always be a Canadian now."

He said he enjoys working in a community that is so friendly.

"Sudbury is a tight knit community and they generally care about each other."

'I'm proud'

Indryana Saumweber left Indonesia five years ago and now lives in Moosonee.

She came to the ceremony sporting a feather boa and a top hat, and was dressed in patriotic red and white.

"This is my big day. I know that it only happens once, so I want to dress up. And I just want to show to others that I'm proud."

Omar Aburub moved to Canada with his family four years ago from Jordan.

The 12-year-old boy says he's now looking forward to trying new things, like "going around the world, traveling."

"Now I can do that," he continued.

"I like watching hockey also. I'm a big fan of the Montreal team. And I want to try hockey also."