New citizens celebrate Canada Day
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A Nigerian woman was ecstatic to celebrate her first Canada Day as a Canadian citizen while watching her sister receive her citizenship during a ceremony at the International Peace Garden on Wednesday.
Kemi Adebayo-Adetona and her husband, Adebayo Adetona, gave their oath to become Canadian citizens virtually during a Winnipeg ceremony held on July 16 last year. They wanted to share in the joy and check off a bucket-list item by spending Canada Day at the International Peace Garden with family.
“I’m going in there as a Canadian to enjoy the blessing of, you know, being a Canadian and enjoying the beautiful … serenity, the atmosphere, and all that,” Adebayo-Adetona said by phone.
A little girl watches her fellow Salvadoran dancers in the group Shipaki as they perform at the Riverbank Discovery Centre for Canada Day celebrations on Wednesday. (Photos by Tessa Adamski/The Brandon Sun)
The family came to Canada five years ago from Lagos, Nigeria, because they wanted a better life for their three children.
Having family living in Brandon already helped them settle in the community, she said. She likes that the city is an affordable place to raise her children compared to other urban areas and that it’s safe.
She’s also grateful for the universal health-care system and recalled a time when her son needed medical treatment.
“I think back, like, if it was in my country … would he have survived it?” Adebayo-Adetona said.
“That alone … made my dream of coming to Canada necessary.”
The family felt supported through Westman Immigrant Services, which helped them secure employment, learn about Canadian history and make them feel a sense of hope and belonging, Adetona said.
“You just come into a country, and you could see that the country is, you know, welcoming with open hands. So that also helped us,” he said.
Hundreds of people gathered to watch Indigenous dancers at a powwow at the Riverbank Discovery Centre on Canada Day.
Olufemi Afolabi and his wife and two children are also celebrating their first Canada Day as Canadian citizens.
“Myself and my family landed in Canada, and we became citizens just this year,” he said in a phone interview.
“It feels good to be one.”
His family moved from Lagos, Nigeria, in 2022. They took the oath of citizenship virtually during a ceremony in Winnipeg this spring.
He loves living in Canada because it’s very diverse, people are friendly and there’s many opportunities for his children.
Afolabi said he has been looking forward to July 1 all year but was disappointed to see the mix of cloudy and rainy weather at the Riverbank Discovery Centre in Brandon, so his family will go outside to celebrate on the weekend.
Marilou Buncal stands behind her husband Samie and two children, Ezeiah (centre) and Emia on Canada Day at the Riverbank Discovery Centre on Wednesday afternoon. (Tessa Adamski/The Brandon Sun)
Despite the grey skies, hundreds of people flocked to the riverbank to celebrate Canada’s 159th birthday filled with music and dancing from groups, including the Hispanic Association of Manitoba and Shipaki, who are dancers representing El Salvador.
People also watched as Indigenous dancers stepped to the beat of the Rolling Thunder drummers at the Fusion Credit Union Stage on Wednesday afternoon.
» tadamski@brandonsun.com