Ernesto, a lawyer, arrived in Canada from Venezuela in 2003 and just over a decade later in the summer of 2016 he became a Canadian citizen. Passionate about people, giving back, and contributing to his community, Ernesto and his family have dedicated themselves to actively volunteering and sharing the importance of helping others. His daughter was recently honoured at her high school graduation with an award from Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor, the honorable Elizabeth Dowdeswell for 2,500 hours of volunteering!

As someone with an interest in history and curiosity for people, Ernesto has said the Cultural Access Pass program has been an amazing opportunity to learn more about the history of Canada to feel closer to his new home. The Royal Ontario Museum has been a favourite attraction for this Toronto-based family, particularly the newest exhibit, Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story (on now until September 4th, 2017). Ernesto has valued his experience with CAP, and has said visiting these cultural attractions and allowing people to connect over similar interests in art and culture is the first step to build a more inclusive society.

Ernesto’s plans for the future as a Canadian citizen are to continue lending support to others with his volunteer work, practicing law, and continuing to explore Canada’s many cultural attractions with his family.

View the July CAP Members’ Newsletter, where Ernesto’s profile originally appeared

About CAP: For nearly 10 years, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) has delivered the Cultural Access Pass (CAP), an innovative, best-in-class program that gives new citizens access to Canadian culture. It’s time to shift CAP to the digital age. Support the ICC.

Ask them to join! 

We’re always looking to to include more cultural attractions in the Cultural Access Pass program, to offer free admission to new Canadian citizens! Encourage your local art galleries, museums and science centres to become CAP attractions!

Here are 3 easy ways to do this: 

1. Connect us to the cultural attraction on Twitter! Just tag @CAP_LPC_Canada 

2. Contact your  local attraction and tell them about the Cultural Access Pass – encourage them to get in touch with us!

 3. Send us an email letting us know about the attraction. Email us at cap@forcitizenship.ca

What is the Cultural Access Pass? 

New Canadian citizens explore, travel, and discover Canada during their first year of citizenship with the ICC’s Cultural Access Pass ©® (CAP). The only program of its kind in the world, CAP provides members with free admission to more than 1,200 of Canada’s premier cultural attractions and discounts on travel. We are growing everyday and would to include your favourite attraction to be part of CAP!

Passionate about nature and wide open spaces, Régis and Mathilde came from France to settle in Canada in 2009, and became Canadian citizens in 2016. Both Mathilde and Régis live in Montreal, a city which they describe as one of the most beautiful in the world. Mathilde holds a master’s degree in modern art’s and works at an aid agency for women. Régis holds a master’s degree in computer multimedia. He works as a Technical Director for his own business, which he founded in 2014. Lovers of travel and Canada, they help future newcomers by sharing their experiences and their advice through their travel blog; OmniTerra. Their favourite CAP attraction is the Museum of Fine Arts, in their hometown Montreal. Follow their adventures through their blog, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.

View the June CAP Members’ Newsletter, where Régis and Mathilde’s profile originally appeared

About CAP: For nearly 10 years, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) has delivered the Cultural Access Pass (CAP), an innovative, best-in-class program that gives new citizens access to Canadian culture. It’s time to shift CAP to the digital age. Support the ICC.

Trisha moved to Canada in 2010 from Miami, Florida which was her home for 10 years. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, she received her citizenship in June 2016 in Mississauga. After moving back to Canada, she decided to go back to school and learn more about sustainability, a subject she is extremely passionate about. Trisha graduated with a Master of Environment and Business from the University of Waterloo in October 2015. She also holds a Masters of Public Health and a Bachelors in Science in Chemistry and Management. Trisha is currently an Advisor with the Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer services. In her spare time, Trisha enjoys connecting with both nature and the built environment in all four seasons. During the winter you can find her ice skating or walking the exhibits at the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Trisha’s favourite CAP attraction is The Montreal Biosphere at Parc Jean-Drapeau. She describes it as a “mystical landscape,” a term used to reflect a spiritual contentedness with the environment. You can follow Trisha’s journey’s on Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

[View the May CAP Members’ Newsletter, where Trisha’s profile originally appeared]

About CAP: For nearly 10 years, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) has delivered the Cultural Access Pass (CAP), an innovative, best-in-class program that gives new citizens access to Canadian culture. It’s time to shift CAP to the digital age. Support the ICC.

Bessy moved to Canada in May 2012 from Davao City, Philippines. She received her citizenship in October 2016 in Mississauga. She currently lives in Toronto, and has a BSc in Biology from the University of Philippines, and is a full-time Health Studies undergraduate student at York University.  When she first arrived in Canada her aunt handed her, her first $20 bill. She says “I spent half of it on a day-pass, hopping on random busses and streetcars exploring  and getting lost in the city”. Bessy loves music – she is a regular at jazz and karaoke bars, and enjoys jamming out with her bandmates. She also enjoys watching the opera, orchestra, and musicals. Her favourite CAP attractions are the Royal Ontario Museum and the Aga Khan Museum. Bessy plans to continue travelling in Canada – her next adventure will be a trip to explore Newfoundland and Labrador. Follow Bessy’s adventures and explorations across the country on Instagram or Twitter.

View the April CAP Members’ Newsletter, where Bessy’s profile originally appeared

About CAP: For nearly 10 years, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) has delivered the Cultural Access Pass (CAP), an innovative, best-in-class program that gives new citizens access to Canadian culture. It’s time to shift CAP to the digital age. Support the ICC.

Since 2008, the ICC’s Cultural Access Pass (CAP) program has allowed new Canadian citizens to explore, discover, and travel Canada with free access to cultural destinations during their first year of citizenship. The program, which now has over 1,300 participating cultural attractions, aims to give new Canadian citizens a sense of belonging to their new home through free access to its cultural spaces and places.

As a founding partner of the Cultural Access Pass, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) was one of the first cultural organizations to support CAP’s work in accelerating inclusion for new citizens. The Museum offers free access to CAP members all year round, as well as a free guided tour on the first weekend of every month. With a mandate to make its collections accessible to all Ontarians, the ROM has worked to engage and include new citizens since 2008. The Museum’s Community Access Network initiative partners with 57 non-profit community organizations — including the ICC — to offer free Museum tickets or direct access to communities who might not otherwise be able to visit. The program works to remove the social, cultural, and financial barriers that might stand between communities and the Museum. Beyond offering free admission, the ROM also collaborates closely with community partners to provide meaningful experiences and specialized learning opportunities for over 100,000 visitors every year.

Late last year, New Canadians, a web and TV show for newcomers to Canada, accompanied a group of CAP members on a tour of the Royal Ontario Museum. The segment, now available online, explains how new citizens can register for and use the Cultural Access Pass, and offers a sneak peek of the ROM’s magnificent collections — free for CAP members.

“We partnered with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship for the Cultural Access Pass program because we live in a very diverse city, in a very diverse province,” says Cheryl Blackman, Assistant Vice-President, Audience Development at the ROM. “And we needed to make sure that everyone feels welcome to the ROM.”

Watch the full video below:

Want to learn more about the Cultural Access Pass? Click here.
Learn more about the ROM’s Community Access Network initiative here.

New Canadians airs on OMNI TV.  Watch the full story here. 

The day Canada became a democracy cannot help but be a defining moment in our history. One hundred and sixty-nine years ago, on March 11, 1848 Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine was summoned by the Governor General, Lord Elgin, to form a new government. Why? Because the grand coalition of Upper and Lower Canadian reformers had won a clear majority in the election of 1848. For the first time, in any part of the British Empire, it became clear that the people and not the imperial authorities would decide who was to form the government.

So March 11, 1848 is one of the most important dates in Canadian history. It marks the beginning of what we might call modern Canada. Another way of putting it is that March 11 marks the beginning of Responsible Government in Canada — the now axiomatic idea that governance is properly carried out by elected citizen representatives and not colonial powers. It was a defining moment for representative democracy in Canada, marking a paradigm shift in its modes of governance, and laying the legal foundations for a society based on inclusion and egalitarianism.

In March 1848, a Reform government – it was called The Great Ministry – led by Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin came into power in the United Province of Canada (the territories now known as Ontario and Quebec). During its three years in power, the Reform government laid the legal foundations for egalitarianism, instated a system of public education, and insisted on a non-violent approach to politics. (When protesters burnt down the Parliament buildings in Montreal, the government ordered the police forces not to open fire on the crowds.) It was, as author and ICC co-founder John Ralston Saul has noted, an “astonishingly atypical” beginning for modern democracy in Canada, given the political discord in Europe and the United States at the time. Inclusion, restraint, debate, representation, egalitarianism — the precepts of good governance as we understand it today, forged by an unlikely heroic duo of Francophone Catholic and Anglophone Protestant.

“The first law passed by The Great Ministry created a Canadian immigration policy designed to protect immigrants. This is the foundation of our refugee, immigration and citizenship policies today,” says John Ralston Saul, who wrote a biography on the two leaders. “The example of LaFontaine and Baldwin is that democracy in Canada only works if we are willing to leap forward with important ideas and policies that strengthen egalitarianism and the public good.”

In 2000, John Ralston Saul founded the LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture, an annual lecture given by a prominent public intellectual. The lecture honours the legacy of LaFontaine and Baldwin, gathering Canadians for debate and dialogue in the spirit of the public good. Past speakers have included George Erasmus, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, His Highness the Aga Khan, Naheed Nenshi, and Robert Lepage. Last year, Naomi Klein inaugurated the ICC’s first ever 6 Degrees Citizen Space with the 14th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture — an urgent change for call in environmental policy.

This year, as Canada marks its sesquicentennial, the principles of inclusion, good governance, and humanism are as relevant as ever.

Watch Naomi Klein give the 14th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture here.

The 15^th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture will take place on September 25, 2017.