Many new Canadians took in Canada Day festivities in Wascana Park to celebrate all things Canadian.
Canada Day serves as a celebration of a second home for some, including Bahmandeep Singh who is originally from India, but has lived in Canada for a couple of years.
"It’s a multicultural country and everyone is treated the same way. And the second thing I like about Canada is that the people of Canada are very polite and they are so helpful, so I really feel so good to be in an environment where people are so friendly to each other," said Singh.
Those friendly gestures help make Sandhu feel a sense of connection with other Canadians. This sentiment is echoed by Ayesha Azam, a first generation Canadian, after her parents moved here from Pakistan.
"I feel really proud to be a Canadian, I’m really blessed to have been born here and be a Canadian citizen. We have a lot of freedom and things that you don’t see back home and so it’s a really big difference when I see what they have back home to what I have over here. So I feel very privileged and blessed to be here,” said Azam.
On a day where all Canadians come together to celebrate the country, Azam has a message that immigrants want to share with their fellow Canadians.
"We are proud to be Canadian, we are not very reserved. We want to be open to everyone we want to engage with everyone and talk to people. We really just want to be citizens with everybody else," said Azam.
Based on a report by Madina Azizi
