It took 91 years, but Marianne Sahlstrom is now officially a Canadian citizen.

'At last, I'm a real Canadian,' Marianne said at her private citizenship ceremony at the Elijah Smith Building in Whitehorse last Friday.

But, the bright-eyed and witty woman paused only a second before adding, 'Again!'

Marianne was born in 1914 in Moncton, N.B. She has lived in Regina, Vancouver and Trail, B.C.

Along the twists and turns on life's journey, Marianne said, 'I met a young man. Never talk to anyone or you're done for.'

The young man was Ted Sahlstrom, born in Leduc, Alta., three years Marianne's senior and a merchant at Woodwards where he ground lenses for glasses.

'Dad met Mom in Vancouver when she was working at an ice cream shop,' Marianne's youngest son, George, told the Star.

'Mom liked what she saw and gave him a big serving, and things just got sweeter and sweeter after that.'

Marianne and Ted married in 1934, but in the midst of the Great Depression, they moved to Trail to help at Ted's father's sawmill.

They waited to have children because they didn't want to have to raise them in poverty, said Marianne.

By 1939, their first child, Karen, was born, with James following a year later.

However, not long after their births, the sawmill burned down, and went out of business. The family then returned to Vancouver.

Ted had high hopes for his family, though. Inspired by his work at Woodwards, he wanted to go to school to become an optometrist.

Not able to find an appropriate college in Canada, he moved his family to Forest Grove, Ore. in 1943.

The family's move happened only four years prior to Canadian citizenship being established as law.

Prior to 1947, any individual born within Canada was defined as a British subject under law. When Marianne's family left for the United States and later became citizens there, they had never been legally defined as Canadians.

Marianne's family grew and lived happily in Oregon, though.

After Ted finished his education at Oregon's School of Optometry, they moved to Albany, where he established a practice and they welcomed George into the family in 1947.

The family lived in Albany for most of their lives, with Ted maintaining his practice until about 1980. He died in 1994.

Two years later, Marianne moved into an assisted living facility.

But, George, who moved to the Yukon with his wife, Rhonda, in 1998, thought his mother might be better off with family, and invited her to come and live with them. She did just that in 2001.

'I have a wonderful environment where I am,' said Marianne. 'My goodness, I'm a queen.'

Hence, began the long process of re-establishing Marianne's Canadian citizenship.

After her permanent residency was established, it took another 2 1/2 years before she stated her oath and received her citizenship card last Friday.

To start the convoluted process, George said they first had to track down Marianne's birth certificate, which had never actually been issued. Instead, she just had a baptismal certificate from a church in New Brunswick.

George also had to appeal to the federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to permit his mother to forego the medical exam, because at her age, it was unlikely that she would have passed, he said.

There was even a point where a wrong form had been filed. It took almost a year for it to be determined by the department that another piece of paperwork had to be filed, added George.

'You should see the file,' he said. 'Mom was sometimes frustrated by it.'

The paperwork appeared to be completed by March 2004, and the family hoped to have their mother sworn in as a Canadian citizen in the Canada Day ceremony.

'At times, I got weary of waiting,' said Marianne.

It took another year before a website used to monitor the progress of the applications showed that Marianne's process had officially been completed and approved.

The notification came in June of this year, and it was hoped she would take her oath at the citizenship ceremony presided over by Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson.

But, again the opportunity was missed.

'I told my family that if I don't get it done this month, I'll say I don't need it,' said Marianne.

It wasn't until about three weeks after Clarkson's visit that the family was informed Marianne would go through her citizenship ceremony in Dawson City in September.

However, thinking the long drive and lengthy ceremony might be too much for his mother, George contacted Citizenship and Immigration to see if there was any possibility of Marianne taking her oath in Whitehorse.

With the help of Yukon MP Larry Bagnell, a private ceremony was permitted.

In a ceremony presided over by Judge Vera Radyo, the family gathered in a boardroom at the federal government building on Main Street.

The family even had Marianne's 1943 Canadian passport on hand to use with other documents as proof of her identity.

'I can't believe that this day has actually arrived,' said Marianne. 'I've waited a long time.'

Prior to taking her oath, Marianne reminisced with Radyo, recalling her memories of Queen Elizabeth II's birth, her interest in first nation issues and her hope of helping others in her community.

'I hope I'll be a good asset,' said Marianne.

Bagnell and Radyo assured her that she already is.

'It's not every day you become a citizen,' said Radyo, 'but for her, it's happened twice. It's an unusual situation.'

'I'm honoured to receive it,' said Marianne, adding, 'I'm really happy to finally be settled down.'