Canada Day 2026: 52 New Citizens Sworn In at Ottawa Ceremony as Celebrations Span the Country

Fifty-two people from 26 countries became Canadian citizens in Ottawa yesterday morning, taking the oath at a special Canada Day ceremony that went ahead even as extreme weather closed in on the capital and eventually washed out its evening celebrations.

The ceremony began at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 1, with Citizenship Judge Rania Sfeir presiding and Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab in attendance. It was streamed live on YouTube, so family and friends who could not be in the room still had a way to watch the moment the oath was taken.

In her official Canada Day statement, Minister Diab described a country where "diversity is celebrated, our values unite us." The statement pointed to citizenship ceremonies taking place in every corner of the country and celebrated Canada's official languages and the experiences its citizens share.

Ottawa's was the most high-profile of those ceremonies, but it had plenty of company.

In Winnipeg, a Canada Day ceremony at The Forks welcomed 23 new Canadians. Ceremonies were also held across Alberta, where the day gave citizenship a fresh layer of meaning for many of those taking part. And in Collingwood, Ontario, the town carried on its annual tradition: a citizenship reaffirmation ceremony followed by a giant cake. Reaffirmation ceremonies do not create new citizens; they let people who already hold citizenship retake the oath symbolically, a chance to say the words again alongside their neighbours.

The weather spared Ottawa's morning but not its evening. Roughly 100 mm of rain fell on the capital, flooding roads and knocking out power, and the Canada Day evening show at LeBreton Flats, fireworks included, was cancelled.

None of that touched the part of the day that cannot be rescheduled so easily. A citizenship ceremony is the final step of a long journey: an adult applicant generally must be a permanent resident, meet a physical-presence requirement and, if aged 18 to 54, pass a knowledge test before ever reaching the oath. After the ceremony, the paperwork runs the other way. New citizens receive a citizenship certificate, and with it the ability to apply for a Canadian passport, register to vote and update records such as their Social Insurance Number.

Canada Day is the most visible date on the citizenship calendar, but it is one of many. Ceremonies happen year-round in communities across the country; during Citizenship Week in April, about 6,000 new Canadians from 40 countries were welcomed at ceremonies coast to coast. What sets July 1 apart is the timing, the chance to become Canadian on the day the country celebrates itself.

For the 52 people who raised their hands in Ottawa, the 23 at The Forks and everyone sworn in across Alberta, the fireworks can wait until next year. The oath could not, and by mid-morning yesterday it was done.