Working with federal public service employees presiding at a ceremony

In some instances, federal public service employees will be able to preside at a citizenship ceremony. This generally includes: acknowledge the Indigenous territory, give opening and closing remarks, administer the oath of citizenship, and present certificates (if applicable) during the ceremony. The ceremony could be virtual or in-person based on the presider’s location and availability. In most instances, this will occur when citizenship judges and volunteer presiding officials are not available.

On this page

• Eligible federal public service employees
• Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
  • Role and responsibilities
• Executive Presiders
  • Role and responsibilities
  • Becoming an executive presider
    • Frequency
    • Onboarding
    • Orientation
  • Working with executive presiders
    • Scheduling executive presiders
    • Approving executive presiders
    • Travel expenses
    • Prior to the ceremony
    • On the day of the ceremony
    • After the ceremony
• Pre-identified level 2 decision-makers
• Foreign service officers
  • Role and responsibilities
• Individuals delegated by the Registrar of Canadian Citizenship
  • Role and responsibilities

Eligible federal public service employees

Federal public servants who can preside at a ceremony under certain circumstances include the following:

• The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
• Deputy Ministers (DM) and Associate Deputy Ministers (DMA) or equivalent positions within the Government of Canada as part of the DM Presider Program (DMPP).
  • They must be a current Government employee.
  • They must be currently employed in the position.
  • The Office of the IRCC Deputy Minister will approve the request to preside.
• Any executive level Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) employee as part of the IRCC Executive Presider Program (EPP).
  • They must be a current IRCC employee.
  • They must be currently employed in the position.
  • Their substantive position must be EX-01 or higher. 
• Pre-identified Level 2 decision-makers.
  • They must be a current IRCC employee.
  • They must be currently employed in the position.
  • They must be a current delegated Level 2 or higher decision-maker (IRCC employees that have taken the Citizenship Level 2 Delegation for Grants – Section 5 course) as of the day of the ceremony.
• Foreign service officer (as per the Citizenship Act).
• A government employee delegated by the Registrar for Canadian Citizenship only in urgent or extenuating circumstances.

All presiders must be Canadian citizens and 18 years old and older.

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Role and responsibilities

The IRCC Minister may choose to participate in citizenship ceremonies in the following way:

• As the Presiding official of the entire ceremony as described above, or
• As a special guest speaker to give congratulatory remarks to new citizens
  • In addition, they may also choose to administer the oath (despite not presiding the ceremony), or
• As an observer.

Notes:

• The IRCC Minister can administer the oath as per the Citizenship regulations.
• Other elected officials are not authorized to deliver the oath to avoid the appearance of partisanship.
• When the IRCC Minister is present, they may choose to administer the oath despite another individual (Citizenship Judge, Volunteer Presiding Official (VPO), IRCC Executive, etc.) presiding over the ceremony.
• Generally, the only exceptions for an individual to administer the oath instead of the presiding official at a citizenship ceremony is the IRCC Minister, or a delegated individual for bilingual purposes (where two individuals would administer the oath, one in each official language).

Executive Presiders

Role and responsibilities

• Executive presiders have no administrative or judicial responsibilities – they only take on the ceremonial responsibilities of a citizenship judge during a citizenship ceremony.
• Executive presiders, as the presiding official of the ceremony, administer the oath of citizenship and present certificates (when applicable).
• If there is a reception following the citizenship ceremony, the executive presider is invited and expected to attend.
• Often, new citizens request to have their photographs taken with the presiders.
• The media may be present and wish to interview or photograph the presider. Guidance is provided in Presiding at Citizenship Ceremonies: A Guide for Volunteer Presiding Officials. In the event that an executive presider is approached by the media to give an interview, only offer factual statements (e.g. number of candidates, number of countries, etc.) or direct the media to the citizenship employees so they can refer them to NHQ - Communications.

Becoming an executive presider

IRCC executive level employees (EX-01 or higher) may express interest in presiding at a citizenship ceremony either in response to an organized call-out by the Department or by contacting NHQ - Program Guidance.

Frequency

• IRCC Executive Presider Program: Invitations to executives are typically sent out at least once a year or whenever operationally possible. Once an executive from the Executive Presider Program has presided, they may be called upon to preside on occasion as needed (VPOs are prioritized).
  • Note: Some offices, i.e. in the National Capital region, may request EXs more frequently since they currently do not have a citizenship judge assigned to their office or the EXs are mostly in their area.
• DM Presider Program: DMs and DMAs from the Government of Canada will be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preside by invitation of the IRCC Deputy Minister. Invitations to other departments are sent at the discretion of the IRCC Deputy Minister whenever operationally possible. Deputies from outside IRCC should be referred to the Humanitarian and Identity Operations Branch (HIOB) DGO for the initial contact and next steps.

Onboarding

IRCC Executive Presider Program: Once a recipient accepts the invitation to preside, NHQ – Program Guidance provides a mandatory onboarding session for the executive (e.g. ceremony formats, working with Indigenous representatives, adapting the ceremony script) and provides various tools to preside (for example, Presiding at Citizenship Ceremonies: A Guide for Volunteer Presiding Officials. NHQ – Program Guidance will also inquire about the executives’ personal information and preferences, such as bilingual language capacity, Canadian citizenship status, equity, diversity, and inclusion profile. Their information is included in a list which is shared with citizenship employees to assist in scheduling executive presiders. NHQ – Program Guidance will also update the complete list of IRCC executive presiders to ensure a fair assignment of ceremonies to each executive presider. NHQ – Program Guidance may meet with IRCC executive presiders individually or in a group session.

DM Presider Program: NHQ – Program Guidance and HIOB Operations will jointly onboard DMs and DMAs.

Orientation

When an executive presider has been assigned their first ceremony, the HIOB Citizenship Operations Division team is encouraged to contact the executive to introduce themselves and answer any additional questions they may have. The following may also be discussed at this time:

• Up-to-date contact information. If contact information or the executive’s position has changed, citizenship employees are to provide NHQ – Program Guidance with the new information.
• DMs, DMAs, and IRCC executive presiders who have not attended a citizenship ceremony in the past will be invited to attend an orientation session by the citizenship employees to review their ceremony procedures (may be on the same day as the ceremony or a different day). Citizenship employees can meet with the executive presiders individually or in a group session.

Working with executive presiders

Scheduling executive presiders

NHQ – Program Guidance will monitor the pool of IRCC executive presiders under EPP to ensure a balanced assignment of ceremonies is being maintained; however, citizenship employees are responsible for ensuring that they are rotating through the pool of available executives when judges or VPOs are not available. The citizenship employees should be available to answer questions the executive presiders may have about scheduling or planning of ceremonies.

Once the executive presiders have committed to presiding at a ceremony and candidates for citizenship have been invited for a specific date and time, it is important that the executive presiders honour their commitment. This expectation is communicated during the onboarding session; however, citizenship employees should have a back-up presider for last minute cancellations (i.e. pre-identified level 2 delegated employee).

IMPORTANT: If executive presiders under the IRCC Executive Presider Program repeatedly cancel their scheduled appearance, they may be removed from the presiders' list by NHQ – Program Guidance.

DM Presider Program: HIOB Operations will lead the scheduling of DM and DMA presiders. It should be emphasized that the executive presider is speaking on behalf of the Citizenship Program and Canada and not as a representative of their home department. The delineation also helps in the planning phases of the ceremony when the home department is the host of the ceremony. Contact NHQ - Program Guidance for guidance.

Approving executive presiders

Presiding at a ceremony includes duties such as delivering congratulatory remarks, and speaking to the new citizens about rights and responsibilities of citizenship, Indigenous reconciliation, bilingualism, as well as Canadian values. In order for an executive presider to preside a ceremony, citizenship employees must seek approval from the Registrar of Canadian Citizenship. Approval must be requested before the following is performed:

• the administration of the oath of citizenship.
• the distribution of citizenship certificates.

Consult the section on Delegated authorities related to citizenship ceremonies for steps to obtain approval. In cases where an emergency presider is required, delegation to preside needs to be sought as soon as possible by sending an email to NHQ - Program Guidance.

Travel expenses

The presider’s sector (or branch) or department is responsible for reimbursing any ceremony-related travel expenses.

• IRCC Executive Presider Program: Travel expenses are the responsibility of their own sector (or branch).
• DM Presider Program: Travel expenses are the responsibility of their own Department.

Prior to the ceremony

NHQ – Program Guidance will provide the presiders with the Microsoft Word version of the Sample Speaking Notes for the presider to include their own brief personalized story. NHQ – Program Guidance will review the presider's remarks in advance of the ceremony the first time they preside. For the IRCC Executive Presiders, their remarks should be reviewed by the citizenship employees annually and edits can be made if necessary.

Citizenship employees must provide the presiders with the appropriate words to acknowledge the Indigenous territory as well as any special themed-speaking points.

On the day of the ceremony

Citizenship employees ask the presider to log into the virtual ceremony or arrive at the site of the ceremony at least a half-hour before the scheduled start in order to review the sequence of events and their speaking notes. Citizenship employees will advise the presider of any special guests in attendance, introductions and any special acknowledgement or thanks that need to be made during the ceremony.

After the ceremony

Citizenship employees can share with NHQ – Program Guidance a debrief and constructive feedback for the executive presider, if needed, on the following:

• Areas of improvement regarding the remarks or the oath: speed/volume, tone/messaging, bilingualism.
• Planning of the ceremony: fulfillment of roles and responsibilities, timeliness, communication, etc.

It is NHQ – Program Guidance’s responsibility to discuss the feedback and areas for improvement with the executive presiders.

Pre-identified level 2 decision-makers

Pre-identified level 2 decision-makers (IRCC employees) may preside over a ceremony only if all efforts have been made to identify a judge, volunteer presiding official and executive presider. Currently employed pre-identified IRCC Level 2 decision-makers who have received blanket delegation by the Registrar of Canadian Citizenship should preside as a last resort and serve as a back-up in case of emergencies or last-minute cancellations.

• The list of these individuals is revised annually and the blanket delegation period is generally for one year.
• The blanket delegation approval expires if the employee leaves their position.
• The list of individuals can also administer the oath of citizenship after an interview/hearing with a client, if an assessment reveals that the case can be granted and the clients'(s) clearances are valid. Pre-identified level 2 decision-makers administering the oath after an interview/hearing with a client can consult the Instructions for Level II officers administering the oath of citizenship-BIL.

Foreign service officers

Role and responsibilities

Foreign service officers can preside a ceremony abroad in certain situations, as per the Citizenship Act. They do not require delegation by the Registrar of Canadian Citizenship.

Individuals delegated by the Registrar of Canadian Citizenship

Role and responsibilities

In extremely rare cases (and only after all other presider’s categories have been looked into), a government employee may be delegated by the Registrar of Canadian Citizenship to preside, i.e. for urgent or extenuating circumstances, extremely remote areas or bilingual purposes. Delegation needs to be sought as soon as possible by sending an email to NHQ - Program Guidance.

See PDI: Delegated authorities related to citizenship ceremonies.