There hasn't been an in-person citizenship ceremony in Thunder Bay for years. A petition aims to change that

Greta Piazza says becoming a Canadian citizen in Thunder Bay, Ont., was a great feeling — but the moment would have felt more significant had the ceremony been held in person.

Piazza, who is from Arona, Italy, has been living in the northwestern Ontario city for about five years. She's lived in a number of countries, including Spain, Portugal and Ireland, but was drawn to Canada by her husband, Tim Van Reenen.

She passed her Canadian citizenship test last year, but had to take her oath online.

"I would have been more happy to have it in person because it's a different feeling," Piazza said. "I could have been there with the other new citizen[s] and with the judge in person, the flags, the officials."

"After the ceremony, you receive a citizen certificate. Receiving that in person probably would have … made the experience more real."

The Thunder Bay Multicultural Association (TBMA), which offers classes to help people prepare for the citizenship test, helped organize the city's ceremonies, which saw between 100 and 120 candidates each.

"They often had two ceremonies per year just because of the demand," said the TBMA's executive director, Cathy Woodbeck. "There were candidates from across northwestern Ontario."

The ceremonies have been held virtually by video call since the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Thunder Bay resident Julie Hutka started a petition in the hopes of changing that.

"I think that it's so important to have that opportunity to celebrate this major step in front of one's family and friends and with other people who are stepping onto this journey, that it really should be in person," Hutka said.

"Things can be streamlined for bureaucracy, but I don't believe this is one of them that should be."

Hutka has a family member going through the process of becoming a Canadian citizen. Her relative's friend recently took the oath, and Hutka said she was shocked to learn it happened on a laptop at the kitchen table.

"I thought really, this is such a monumental moment in the long process to becoming a Canadian, that it is marginalized to such a small and lackluster event," she said.

"My mother became a Canadian citizen many, many, many years ago and it was a real moment of pride just to watch my mother take this oath."

CBC News reached out to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and received an emailed statement on Tuesday.