People are already flooding onto the lawn of Parliament Hill in anticipation of what is expected to be one of the largest Canada Day crowds ever.
Some even arrived in the early morning hours. There are reports that OC Transpo buses are packed full and are unable to stop and pick up some people hoping to use public transit.
The draw is of course the presence of the Royal couple, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge.
First though William and Kate have arrived at a citizenship ceremony at the Museum of Civilization in the Hull sector of Gatineau. Tne royal couple were accompanied by the Governor General and his wife and by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. A piper greeted them and God Save the Queen was sung by a retired member of the RCMP, Garth Hampson. The royal couple followed the piper to a stage in the First People’s exhibit. His blue suit and her white dress and red fascinator hat were set against a representation of a West Coast village.
Twenty-five new Canadians got a surprise this week: a couple of royal guests were coming to see them become citizens on Canada Day.
And there was no judge on hand. That was Gov.-Gen David Johnston waiting to swear them in. The Governor General and the Immigration Minister both delivered remarks before the swearing in took place in both official languages.
Even as he waited for the ceremony, Vincent Soong wasn’t sure William and Kate were coming. Might be a rumour, he said. A reporter had to show him a royal tour press pass as proof.
Crowds stood from sunrise outside the Museum of Civilization, where the ceremony was set for 10:30 a.m.
Six years ago Cuban-native Roberto Carillo-Rubio saw a red tie with “Canada” written all over it in a dollar store. He had to buy it, knowing one day he would want to wear it.
“I bought this tie six years ago and I said I was going to keep it for that day,” Carillo-Rubio said.
That day finally came.
“I didn’t even know how to tie it,” he said of the festive dollar-store accessory he wore to take an oath of citizenship.
Carillo-Rubio and his wife Tania Bello-Rodriguez and 11-year-old daughter Daniela are receiving their Canadian citizenship July 1 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in front of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
“It is a privilege and a great honour,” he said of having the royal couple in attendance.
Carillo-Rubio came to Canada in 2001 in search of freedom, he said, leaving Cuba’s communist rule.
He said the royal couple is not as well known in Cuba because of the restrictions on the media.
“The think that I love about this place is the fact of respect and freedom ... The freedom of speech, the freedom of [living] where ever you want to live,” he said.
But he had to leave his wife and daughter back home and so he waited until they arrived in 2006 before starting the Canadian citizenship application process.
Less than a year later, they brought in a new addition to the family, their son Jonathan.
“He was the last one to arrive but the first one to be Canadian,” Carillo-Rubio laughed.
Some even arrived in the early morning hours. There are reports that OC Transpo buses are packed full and are unable to stop and pick up some people hoping to use public transit.
The draw is of course the presence of the Royal couple, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge.
First though William and Kate have arrived at a citizenship ceremony at the Museum of Civilization in the Hull sector of Gatineau. Tne royal couple were accompanied by the Governor General and his wife and by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. A piper greeted them and God Save the Queen was sung by a retired member of the RCMP, Garth Hampson. The royal couple followed the piper to a stage in the First People’s exhibit. His blue suit and her white dress and red fascinator hat were set against a representation of a West Coast village.
Twenty-five new Canadians got a surprise this week: a couple of royal guests were coming to see them become citizens on Canada Day.
And there was no judge on hand. That was Gov.-Gen David Johnston waiting to swear them in. The Governor General and the Immigration Minister both delivered remarks before the swearing in took place in both official languages.
Even as he waited for the ceremony, Vincent Soong wasn’t sure William and Kate were coming. Might be a rumour, he said. A reporter had to show him a royal tour press pass as proof.
Six years ago Cuban-native Roberto Carillo-Rubio saw a red tie with “Canada” written all over it in a dollar store. He had to buy it, knowing one day he would want to wear it.
“I bought this tie six years ago and I said I was going to keep it for that day,” Carillo-Rubio said.
That day finally came.
“I didn’t even know how to tie it,” he said of the festive dollar-store accessory he wore to take an oath of citizenship.
Carillo-Rubio and his wife Tania Bello-Rodriguez and 11-year-old daughter Daniela are receiving their Canadian citizenship July 1 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in front of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
“It is a privilege and a great honour,” he said of having the royal couple in attendance.
Carillo-Rubio came to Canada in 2001 in search of freedom, he said, leaving Cuba’s communist rule.
He said the royal couple is not as well known in Cuba because of the restrictions on the media.
“The think that I love about this place is the fact of respect and freedom ... The freedom of speech, the freedom of [living] where ever you want to live,” he said.
But he had to leave his wife and daughter back home and so he waited until they arrived in 2006 before starting the Canadian citizenship application process.
Less than a year later, they brought in a new addition to the family, their son Jonathan.
“He was the last one to arrive but the first one to be Canadian,” Carillo-Rubio laughed.
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