Teenage surfer Erin Brooks received her Canadian citizenship Tuesday, clearing the way for her to attempt to wear the Maple Leaf at the Paris Olympics.
The citizenship ceremony was held virtually, with a smiling Brooks holding up her right hand while clutching a Bible with her left in front of a laptop.
"Thank you very much, Erin. That was great," said Ryan Mill, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada official at the other end of the virtual link. "And now I am so proud to announce you are officially a Canadian citizen. Congratulations."
"Thank you so much," said a beaming Brooks.
Brooks is training in Hawaii and was on the north shore of Oahu for her swearing-in Tuesday morning.
The 16-year-old Brooks was born in Texas and grew up in Hawaii but has Canadian ties through her American-born father Jeff, who is a dual American-Canadian citizen, and her grandfather who was born and raised in Montreal.
"This is such a meaningful day for me and my family and especially for my family in Montreal," said Brooks. "I’ve been surfing for my country for the past four years and now, to be a citizen and have a chance to compete for Team Canada in Paris 2024 is my biggest goal.”
The final opportunity to qualify for the Olympics is at the ISA World Championships in Puerto Rico in February.
Brooks' citizenship bid was initially turned down. But Immigration Minister Marc Miller had a change of heart after a December ruling by Ontario's Superior Court of Justice that it is unconstitutional for Canada to deny automatic citizenship to the children of foreign-born Canadians who grew up abroad.
The Brooks family then refiled their application under a hardship status, based on the recommendation of the Immigration Department, to accelerate the process.
"This is a proud and special day for Canada, the Brooks family, and for surfers and Canadian surf fans, from coast to coast to coast,” said Dom Domic, executive director of Surf Canada.
Brooks is considered to be an Olympic medal hopeful due to the heavy left-hand barrel conditions at Teahupo'o in Tahiti, where the Olympic surfing event is being held.
She won a silver medal at the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador in June and gold at the ISA World Junior Championships in June 2022.
Canada's citizenship laws are complex, with amendments changing the rules in 2009 and 2015. But essentially Bill C-37 in 2009 ended the extension of citizenship to second-generations born abroad.
In an October letter explaining its decision not to grant a "discretionary grant of citizenship," Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says Brooks did not meet the requirements.
It was the latest in a series of setbacks for the Brooks family.
Their home in Lahaina on Maui burned down during the recent wildfires and Brooks' mother is battling cancer. The family now calls Tofino, B.C., home when not on the road nine to 10 months a year with their daughter.
The Canadian Olympic Committee also backed Brooks' bid for citizenship with CEO David Shoemaker saying the teenager has demonstrated "her sincere commitment to compete for Canada and to be Canadian."
In March 2022, Surfing Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee petitioned the International Surfing Association (ISA) to allow Brooks to compete for Canada as her citizenship application had been filed, but not completed.
The ISA granted the request but changed its mind last June, saying "this decision was taken incorrectly and not in accordance with the applicable ISA rules."
The ISA suspended Brooks' eligibility to compete for Canada, saying it would re-evaluate the decision if "proof of citizenship with a verified document from the Canadian government, was provided.
That prevented Brooks from competing at the Pan Am Games and the ISA World Championships. She has continued to compete in the World Surf League's Qualifying Series.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2024.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
