Question Period Note: IN-PERSON AND VIDEO OATH CEREMONIES

Update on in-person and video oath ceremonies.

• Taking the Oath of Citizenship at a citizenship ceremony is an important part of Canadian tradition, and the final legal step in becoming a Canadian citizen.
• The Government is dedicated to providing meaningful, celebratory, and inclusive in-person and virtual ceremonies while offering clients’ choice.
• IRCC resumed in-person ceremonies in July 2022 while also offering virtual ceremonies to ensure timely and flexible client service.
• As standard practice, clients are invited to either an in-person or virtual oath ceremony and have the opportunity to request an alternative format.

If pressed on self-administration of the oath:
• IRCC recognizes the concerns raised during public consultation and is examining options.

In April 2020, IRCC transitioned exclusively to virtual ceremonies as a means of adapting to the pandemic, including safeguards to maintain client privacy and security.
IRCC resumed holding in-person ceremonies in July 2022, while maintaining virtual ceremonies. Local offices continue to adjust their ceremony schedules and formats based on operational needs.
Clients are invited by the Department to either an in-person or a virtual ceremony, based on operational considerations. Clients may request a change of format through their ceremony invitation (e.g. from virtual ceremony to in-person ceremony and vice-versa) and the Department makes best efforts to accommodate client preference.
The Department is working on ways to increase the number of in-person ceremonies where operationally feasible, improve communication with clients, improve procedural and administrative enhancements to ceremonies, and ensure citizenship ceremonies remain meaningful, inclusive and client-centered.
Self-Administration of the Oath of Citizenship
On February 25, 2023, IRCC pre-published proposed amendments to the Citizenship Regulations that would allow for the self-administration of the oath in the Canada Gazette for a 30 day public consultation period.

The Department received 440 submissions of written feedback during the consultation period. Approximately 61% (268) of the comments received were not supportive, 36% (159) were supportive and 3% (13) were neutral.

On July 12, 2023, MP Tom Kmiec endorsed an e-petition calling for the Minister of IRCC to abandon plans to permit self-administration of the oath, and revert to in-person ceremonies as the default. The e-petition closed on October 10, 2023 with 1,549 signatures. The Government tabled its response on December 4, 2023, emphasizing that the Department would continue to explore options that will modernize the Citizenship Program while recognizing the value of in-person citizenship ceremonies.

Analysis is underway to assess options with respect to the self-administration of the oath, particularly surrounding the client experience journey, measures related to the integrity of the process and an ongoing commitment that citizenship ceremonies remain an important part of Canadian tradition. Additionally, the Department continues to reflect on the feedback received from members of the public, which will be taken into consideration in the assessment of options and decisions on a way forward.

Table 1. Number of ceremonies by format (in-person and virtual)

Month 2023 2024
In-person Virtual In-person Virtual
January 47 208 72 231
February 41 213 96 218
March 44 220 88 212
April 27 121 123 179
May 63 291 N/A N/A
June 50 246 N/A N/A
July 67 227 N/A N/A
August 52 249 N/A N/A
September 59 241 N/A N/A
October 49 241 N/A N/A
November 38 256 N/A N/A
December 45 178 N/A N/A
Average per month 48 224 * 95 *210
Notes:
• Source: IRCC CPPB, Manually Tracked data as of May 14, 2024.
• *Calculation is based on average per month till April (last complete month) = # of ceremonies / 4 months
• Status of ceremonies equals "Completed, Scheduled, In-Progress, Not started, Blank".
• Each week, data is compiled and is manually validated by each office.
• Data are preliminary, subject to change, and may not match official IRCC reporting.

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