![\"Jerry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/JERRY7.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nFor Jerry Valencia Alerta and Honey Flores-Alerta, becoming Canadian citizens isn’t just another milestone \u2014 it’s the fulfilment of a dream years in the making.<\/p>\n
The Morden couple recently took the oath of citizenship and will celebrate their first Canada Day as Canadians this week.<\/p>\n
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“It’s like a dream come true, a blessing,” Honey said. “We’ve waited for some time to be on this very moment.”<\/p>\n
The couple arrived in southern Manitoba in late 2022 after previously living and working in the Middle East. While adapting to a new country came with challenges, they say the welcome they received in Morden and Winkler made the transition much easier.<\/p>\n
“We feel so belonged to this community,” Honey said. “Canada is a very diverse community and very welcoming, especially people in this area. Morden and Winkler are really friendly.”<\/p>\n
![\"Jerry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/JERRY11.jpg\"\/)
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Small acts of kindness left a lasting impression<\/p>\n
Among their earliest memories are neighbours and new friends offering rides to the grocery store while the couple worked toward getting their Manitoba driver’s licences.<\/p>\n
“They would ask us if we needed to go to the grocery store,” Honey recalled. “They would help us out.”<\/p>\n
Jerry said some people even took time off work to lend a hand.<\/p>\n
“They are willing to take their leave just to help us out,” he said.<\/p>\n
Those gestures convinced the couple they had found a place they could truly call home.<\/p>\n
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Looking forward to giving back<\/p>\n
Honey said becoming a citizen marks the beginning of a new chapter rather than the end of their immigration journey.<\/p>\n
“It is the start of being part of a wider community,” she said. “To help others and give back to the community that have helped you through the years.”<\/p>\n
The couple hopes to support newcomers who may be facing the same challenges they once did, whether that’s providing transportation, offering advice or simply asking if someone needs help.<\/p>\n
Jerry said he’s also looking forward to becoming even more involved in the community through volunteer work and filmmaking.<\/p>\n
“I’m excited to help more Canada to improve, and then to support everyone,” he said.<\/p>\n
![\"jERRY](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/JERRY9.jpg\"\/)
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First Canada Day as Canadians<\/p>\n
As they prepare to celebrate July 1st for the first time as Canadian citizens, both say they have a new appreciation for what the day represents.<\/p>\n
Honey hopes Canadians take time to celebrate not only the country, but also the diversity of the people who call it home.<\/p>\n
“Celebrating Canada is celebrating each other as part of the community,” she said. “I can now proudly wave the flag of Canada as a Canadian citizen.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Jerry Valencia Alerta and Honey Flores-Alerta, becoming Canadian citizens isn’t just another milestone \u2014 it’s the fulfilment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":773169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44],"class_list":["post-773168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=773168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}