Canadian citizenship ceremony welcomes more than 300 people in Sask.

Business owner from Syria now a Canadian citizen A Sault Ste. Marie man who arrived as a refugee from Syrian now owns a successful business and is officially a Canadian citizen.

Hundreds of people made their way to TCU Place on Friday for a special occasion that’s been years in the making, becoming Canadian citizens.

More than 300 people attended an in-person ceremony where they received their citizenship certificate and a Canadian flag.

Joy Adeberun and her husband travelled from Regina for the ceremony. Coming to Canada as an international student, she’s been waiting for nine years to get her citizenship.

“It feels so good that I can achieve my full potential and live in a peaceful environment. I really appreciate that,” Adeberun said.

Citizenship judge Suzanne Carrière flew in from Manitoba for the ceremony and says it's only the third in-person ceremony she’s done since the pandemic, making her emotional.

“When you’re here and you see the sea of people in front of you and you see how happy they are and what a special moment it is for them, it’s hard not to get caught up in it,” Carrière told CTV News.

More than 53 countries were represented in the crowd, adding to the diverse pool that makes up Canada’s population.

“You see all different skin colours, you see people dressed in their traditional clothing from their countries and it’s beautiful,” Carrière said.

Fahed Syed first arrived in Canada in 2015 and says at the beginning, it was hard to adjust to a new country. On Friday, he and his wife became citizens while his son was born in Canada.

“It was very hard for us to leave our country but now it’s a good decision, especially for the children it is,” he said.