Ceremony Theme of Connected Communities Finds A Perfect Location

October 25th saw 40 new citizens from 22 countries sworn in as Canadian citizens in Ottawa during a ceremony organized by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) and VIA Rail. Prior to the ceremony beginning, the ICC and Via Rail hosted discussions where guests and Citizenship recipients were asked to share their collective stories and personal reflections on what being Canadian means to them. 15 Via Rail employees conducted the roundtables and over 100 people attended the event.

“As someone who travelled the path of citizenship myself, I can personally attest to the deep meaning that Canadian citizenship holds for our new Canadians. Achieving Canadian citizenship is not only deeply personal, it’s also an important step that allows immigrants to gain a deeper sense of belonging to our country, and to become more active members of our society.”

-The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Via Rail has been hosting citizenship ceremonies since 2015, and they represent a long standing relationship between the ICC and their Cultural Access Pass (CAP) program – a truly extraordinary program in Canada. In their first year of citizenship, Via Rail offers new citizens who are members of the program tickets at a significantly reduced rate so that they can discover Canadian destinations among the 400 communities that are serviced by Via Rail. Since the offer was launched in 2012, nearly 30,000 new citizens have taken advantage of this offer and travelled all around the country. CAP members also get to visit national parks, national marine parks and national historic sites for free and are also entitled to a special one-time offer from Fairmont: book a room at a participating Fairmont hotel and save 20% off the best available rate and a $50 dining credit.

Learn more about the Cultural Access Pass here.