Canada Day represented a new milestone for Sandy Salcedo Delgado, as friends and family gathered to celebrate her recent achievement of officially becoming a Canadian citizen.
She notes that it has been a long time coming.
"I moved here from Tepic, Mexico, and that was back in 2010. So, it will be 15 years on July 9."
She says that having a party with her church and friends in the area made it especially enjoyable.
"It seriously is overwhelming. It's very special because you can see all the people that appreciate you. Being here, it feels like family, being the only one here, without my parents and my brothers. This is like my second family."
She adds that it wasn't due to any issues that her citizenship was delayed.
"It's not Immigration's fault that I got my citizenship now. It was my fault because it takes time, and then every time you think about, 'Oh, I should do it,' there's like another thing that comes up. But then, my residency was supposed to be renewed in October, so we thought, 'Okay, this is the last time we go through that.'"
Sandy and her husband, Alvin Vandermeulen, have three kids, all born and raised in Portage la Prairie.