Before taking on the Calgary Flames on Sunday evening, the Ottawa Senators held a special pre-game ceremony leading into the national anthem.
Welcoming 186 new Canadian citizens from 39 different countries to the ice, the Sens held what they described as the largest citizenship ceremony in Canadian sports history. Players on both teams gave up their usual place on the benches as these new Canadians sang the national anthem before puck drop.
Especially in our nation’s capital, this is a nice gesture to celebrate diversity and Canadian immigrants. Of course, this holds to what many Canadians believe to be one of the country’s core values, which is its cultural mosaic.
These new Canadians will be treated to the Tkachuk Bowl, as brothers Matthew and Brady square off on the ice for the Flames and Sens respectively. Their family members in attendance may just outnumber the new Canadians, too.
