SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A sea of smiles and Canadian flags filled the Greenstone Building atrium on Friday in Yellowknife, as Judge Sonia Bitar presented Canadian citizenship certificates to 100 new Canadians from 36 countries around the world who make the NWT their home.

The new Canadians stood together and took their oaths of citizenship before Bitar and several prominent members of the community including Dan Daniels, associate deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Suzette Montreuil, president of the Commission scolaire francophone des Territories du Nord-Ouest, RCMP members Const. Kathy Law and Const. Tyler Dunbar and a host of family and friends.

"As of today, nobody can call you immigrants anymore. You are now Canadian citizens," Bitar announced as the crowd broke into applause and cheers.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, an immigrant must live in Canada for three years or longer before they can apply to become a Canadian citizen.

Yellowknife Mayor Gord Van Tighem addressed the new NWT citizens with a welcoming speech.

"Thank you everyone for choosing to live in the best country in the world and especially in the best part of that country - the North."

Forty students from the Ecole Allain St-Cyr choir led the crowd in a singing of the national anthem before the citizenship ceremony was declared closed by the RCMP and the new Canadians celebrated with a reception.

Megan Holsapple works for the GNWT and lives in Yellowknife, but was born in the United States.

"I came from Maine and lived in Montreal before coming to the North, and I've been waiting 23 years for my citizenship. It feels amazing," she said.

"I'm really glad to finally be a Canadian."

Sugandaha Pandya got her Canadian citizenship more than three years ago, and moved to Hay River from Toronto to practice nursing one month ago. Pandya was in attendance at the ceremony to support her nursing colleague Simba Matoi from Zimbabwe. Matoi moved to Canada in 2002 to pursue his schooling in Toronto, and came to the North this year to practice nursing in Hay River. Matoi says he was thrilled to take his oath of citizenship in Yellowknife.

"I love Canada and it's great to be up here," he said.

Bright Lulansa hails from the African country of Zambia, and now lives in Inuvik.

"I've lived all over the world, in several parts of Africa and Germany, but Canada is the best place in the world to live," he said.

Nesrine Chaaban took time away from her family, and made the trip to Yellowknife to take her oath of citizenship. Chaaban is from Lebanon and married her husband there before immigrating to Inuvik to be with him three years ago. Chaaban's husband has been a taxi driver in Inuvik for almost 20 years. "It's hard to take the trip to Yellowknife and be away from my children. It will be nice to go back (to Inuvik) to be with them," Chaaban said.

"The adjustment to Canadian life hasn't been too difficult, and I'm doing alright" she added.

"I'm definitely getting used to it."

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