New Canadians get citizenship, hockey jerseys at world juniors ceremony | CBC News

New Canadians from 14 countries received their citizenship at a special ceremony at the Canadian Tire Centre on Monday, timed to coincide with the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Citizenship Judge Rania Sfeir welcomed 26 participants to the “temple of Canadian passion,” joking that becoming Canadian “also means becoming expert in offside rules.”

She noted that to pass the citizenship test, applicants must score 15 out of 20 or higher, “which means we have a wonderful group of nerds.” 

In addition to their citizenship, the new Canadians also received red Canadian hockey jerseys at the ceremony, which was also attended by Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, federal Minister of Families Jenna Sudds, and Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower.

“There’s nothing more important to Canadians than hockey, so to have a citizenship ceremony tied to a hockey event seems very appropriate,” Sutcliffe told CBC. 

Sudds, who is also the MP for Kanata–Carleton, told the participants that the national sport was a unifying force.

“So as you start your journey as Canadians, I can’t think of a better place to do so than right here, where Canada’s national junior team will face off against the best young players in the world,” Sudds said. 

“Our team is very much like you: skilled people who’ve worked hard, who’ve persevered and are now bringing some amazing talent and opportunities to our country.”

While the new citizens swore an oath and sang the national anthem at the ceremony, not all were familiar yet with hockey’s offside rules.

“I’m trying to learn hockey, but I’m still not there,” said Gonzalo Lozano, who is originally from Colombia.

Olusola Matthew Babatunde, who moved from the U.S. six years ago, said he would be happy to watch hockey that night, though he didn’t have a favourite team. 

“I just belong to the winning team,” he said. 

And on Monday evening that team was the Canada juniors, who closed out pre-tournament play with a 3-2 win over Czechia.