Whitehorse gained 21 new citizens Tuesday following a citizenship ceremony at the Elijah Smith Building.

'I can see our human landscape becoming more global,' said Yukon Commissioner Geraldine Van Bibber. 'As Commissioner of Yukon Territory, I invite you to take your rightful place in our society.'

Van Bibber joined fellow speakers Mayor Bev Buckway, former senator Ione Christensen and former Yukon MP Audrey McLaughlin in welcoming the new Canadians.

The noon ceremony was presided over by Customs and Immigration officer Ian Basso and Judge Brenda Brown.

'This ceremony marks a very important milestone in your life,' said Judge Brown.

'Today, you're going to take the final step in becoming a Canadian.'

She told the audience this week is National Citizenship Week, providing pause for all Canadians to reflect on what their citizenship means, what rights it affords, and what responsibilities it carries.

'More than 200,000 people come to Canada each year,' she said.

'It's a place where they can fit in and feel like they belong.'

Brown offered the soon-to-be Canadians advice on how best to become part of their communities, suggesting they get to know their neighbours and volunteer their time.

With those final words of wisdom, the prospective Canadians held their right hands up as they took their oath, vowing allegiance to the Queen, to follow the laws of Canada and to be a good citizen.

From that moment onward, they were not 21 people from 14 countries, but 21 of the newest Canadians, and all were smiling proud.

'I am a Canadian,' they all said in unison.

The immigrants had come to Canada from Australia, Chile, El Salvadore, China, Germany, Finland, France, Hungary, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, the Philippines, Romania, Switzerland and the United States.

Basso said he had worked with most of the new Canadians for years preceding the ceremony, helping many to integrate into Canadian life and study up to become full citizens.

'They all have very interesting stories, if you ask me,' he said following the ceremony.

Adina Malcoln, 35, became a citizen Tuesday after having lived in Whitehorse for three years. She said she came to Canada for love.

'I came here because we got married,' said the Romania native.

She met her husband on the Internet, and they visited each other long-distance. She now works as a hair stylist and said she loves getting to know Yukoners.

'It's cold, but I love it here, it's very wild, in a good way,' she said following the ceremony.

Asked what the ceremony meant to her, she smiled, clapped her hands and squinted her eyes, answering, 'Oh, I'm very happy.'

Matthew Norton, 27, was hard to miss after the ceremony, as he paraded around in his new Team Canada hockey jersey taking pictures with the dignitaries and Mountie, Const. Richard Niman.

'I met my girlfriend in Egypt six years ago, she's from Victoria,' Norton said. The two have since travelled between Canada and his homeland, Australia.

'I now have citizenship in what are, in my opinion, the two best countries in the world.'

Since living in the Yukon and working at the High Country Inn, Norton said, he enjoys fishing for trout, salmon, and, more often than not, the beer cans he pulls up.

While most were sampling the Canadian flag cake following the ceremony, they were overheard talking with their families and other attendees about their firsts in Canada and the Yukon. One new Canadian, however, is in fact a long-standing Yukoner.

Norman Binns said he moved to the territory almost 40 years ago, but had not gotten around to filing his citizenship paperwork.

'I had applied five years after I got here, but my application sat in my desk drawer at home for years, and I never got around to filing it,' he said with a slight accent.

Binns is originally from New Zealand, which he plans to visit as soon as his new Canadian passport comes in. With the application in hand, he said he planned to file it right after the ceremony.

Binns said in all his time in Whitehorse, the biggest changes have been in the landscape thanks, in part, to him.

'I found work on Main Street, with the buildings there. I worked the backhoe,' he said.

This was the third citizenship ceremony held in Whitehorse this year, which is rare, said organizers.

A ceremony usually occurs on Canada Day, and a second was planned this summer to coincide with the Governor General's visit to Whitehorse.