Citizenship ceremony to be held at Dome Building
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/10/2023 (1061 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brandon’s historic Dome Building at the Keystone Centre will be the site of a citizenship ceremony for new Canadians on Thursday as part of Manitoba Ag Ex’s 50th anniversary event.
The citizenship ceremony is just one of the many events and attractions that are part of this year’s Manitoba Ag Ex, which takes place from Oct. 25-28. It’s an especially meaningful one for Mark Humphries, general manager of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, who came to Canada from the United Kingdom around 15 years ago and received citizenship nine years ago.
“My family received citizenship through the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba,” he said. “When we actually looked at the picture of my daughter, my wife and myself at the ceremony, the person who stood right next to me at the back was the current president of the Provincial Exhibition, Kathy Cleaver.”
The Dome building at the Keystone Centre will be the site of a citizenship ceremony for new Canadians on Thursday at noon, as part of the Manitoba Ag Ex lineup. It's time to make a bigger effort to get back to in-person ceremonies. (File)
The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba has been approaching the government and asking to host citizenship ceremonies for a while now, and Humphries is glad it’s finally happening.
“It doesn’t always have to be in our glorious capital of Winnipeg,” he joked. “They listened to us, and brought it back here.” The fact that Humphries’ family has ties to a similar ceremony is icing on the cake for him, he added.
Dallas Johnson, the co-chair of Ag Ex, said he’s also excited about the citizenship ceremony and introducing the new Canadians to the world of agriculture in Manitoba.
“Our efforts are going to be to try and get a bunch of those citizens over to the Ag Centre of Excellence to have a look around and get maybe a little more information on beef and how it’s raised, as well as sheep,” he said.
Some of the people that are becoming citizens of Canada are likely going to be connected to agriculture in some way, depending on which part of the world they come from, Humphries said.
While Hannah Holt, community outreach manager with Westman Immigrant Services, was not involved in planning the ceremony, she said she’s thrilled that it’s taking place, and that it’s part of this year’s Ag Ex lineup.
It’s also uplifting to see citizenship ceremonies returning to in-person events as opposed to online now that the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, Holt said.
“There was a sense of magic that was lost from having a citizenship ceremony done online, so having them in person at the iconic Dome Building here in Brandon is so exciting.”
Welcoming the new Canadians to take part in Ag Ex and learn more about agriculture will be a great way to welcome them to their new home, Holt added.
“It’s so magical for the new Canadians that are being sworn in that day. I just think that’s just such a perfect way to welcome them into being new Canadian citizens.”
Westman Immigrant Services will have a booth on display at the citizenship ceremony with information for new Canadians. The citizenship ceremony will take place at noon.
>> mleybourne@brandonsun.com
>> X: @miraleybourne