Madam Chair, Mr. Vice-Chair, and committee members, thank you for having invited me to testify today on the importance of Canadian citizenship.

Even though I'm not an expert on the lost Canadians issue that you are discussing this afternoon, I'd like to situate this conversation within the overall context of Canadian citizenship and its importance.

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship, which I am so honoured to lead, facilitates and encourages newcomers to complete the journey to full and active Canadian citizenship, not just in their passports but also in their hearts.

Our work, therefore, is an act of service not just to immigrants but to all of Canada, because when newcomers decide that this is their place and that these are their people, they contribute their talent, energy and resourcefulness to our shared success. With the best of the world on our team and contributing to their full potential, Canada can be unstoppable. Citizenship, I believe, is at the heart of that promise. It's all about whether immigrants believe they're on our team.

Each of you, of course, is a member of a team—a political team—so you would understand the power of that experience well.

Our organization hosts 60 enhanced citizenship ceremonies per year in partnership with IRCC. I get to attend a handful of them, and I can say without a doubt that this is the best part of my job. Unlike standard ceremonies, we hold wonderful round table discussions where new citizens reflect on their journeys and on the significance of the moment. No two stories are the same, but they are uniformly moving.

From these new citizens I've learned that becoming Canadian is like passing through a one-way door. Behind them lies a long path of hard work and often hardship that sometimes spans multiple generations. Before them, however, lies another path, also reaching deep into the future, but this one is paved with a sense of peace, security and relief, which many of us who are born in Canada may struggle to understand.

I know a bit about this and many of you do as well. When my daughter was born, she was the first person in our family born in the same country as her parents in almost 150 years. For a century, we were on the run. Thanks to my parent's decision to immigrate to Canada, we're now finally home for good.

Today's conversation, however, is particularly important because of plummeting naturalization rates. In February, our organization released new data showing that the proportion of permanent residents who become citizens within 10 years dropped 40% between 2001 and 2021.

These data draw attention to uncomfortable truths about Canada that we have really yet to confront. They compel us to change our perspective from a, frankly, self-satisfied view that we must restrict Canadian citizenship lest everyone in the world pursue it, to a more humble outlook that is centred around a commitment to restore the promise and desirability of being Canadian.

In other words, I urge you not to limit your gaze to the so-called lost Canadians of the past, but also to remember the lost Canadians of the present and future. They are the millions of people who could join team Canada but are choosing not to.

The marked decline in the number of permanent residents who obtain citizenship in their first decade in Canada has deep and serious consequences. For example, imagine a future in which a large percentage of the population did not have the right to vote. It wouldn't amount to an apartheid policy, but the impact would be very similar.

The sense of belonging is very powerful. If people don't consider Canada to be their society, then they won't dedicate themselves to it, or get involved in our culture and contribute their utmost to making our society a success. That's a danger of concern to all of us.

We must roll up our sleeves to restore the value of being Canadian.

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship is leading the way with our Canoo access pass, which today gives over 150,000 newcomers free, VIP entry to over 1,400 of our country's best cultural and nature attractions, making Canada easier to love and harder to leave. With your support, we can continue to grow and become a standard feature of the Canadian immigration experience.

Thanks to Canoo, our cultural access pass, about 1,000 newcomers visit some of the best cultural and nature attractions every day. They enjoy themselves, meet us, discover our culture, and become a part of it.

We need an all-hands-on-deck mentality to restore the promise of being Canadian, not just for the few but also for the many. I hope today's conversation supports, for their own sake, those who were edged out of citizenship in the past but also reminds us about all those who can and should become Canadians in the future, but may choose not to.

Thank you very much.

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