Edmonton Eskimos players anxiously awaiting word of Canadian citizenship

Canada 150 is just around the corner and two Edmonton Eskimos are celebrating as they await news as to whether they’re going to become citizens.

Odell Willis and Adarius Bowman have both been in Canada for around 10 years. The two met while playing in Winnipeg, now they’re going through the process to become Canadians together.

“I don’t want to go back. We’ve made homes here, and I really enjoy being here,” Willis said. “They just make it hard with all the rules and justifications.”

“If I could make it faster, I would have been a citizen years ago,” Bowman said.

Both are from the southern United States, but now consider Canada home.

“I love the environment, I love the atmosphere, I’ve spent my adult life here,” Bowman said. “In a way, I’ve become a part of the environment and part of the culture here.”

“You’ve got friendly people, you don’t have to worry about things,” Willis said. “Everybody’s nice, everybody’s kind, everybody’s willing to help each other.”

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Bowman has been in Canada since being signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a free agent in 2008. He was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2009. He’s been with the Eskimos since 2011.

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“I go back two or three times a year but, at the end of the day, I work over here and I live over here.”

Willis first came to Canada to play for the Calgary Stampeders in 2009. He was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before heading to Saskatchewan to play for the Roughriders. He has been with the Eskimos since 2013.

LISTEN: 630 CHED’s Morley Scott speaks with Adarius Bowman and Odell Willis about their desire to become Canadian citizens

Unlike Bowman, who recently got married, Willis is single and doesn’t have a family yet. He likes the different cultures in Canada and is hopeful he’ll be able to raise his future kids here to introduce them to other ways of life.

“It’s easy living over here and that’s why I stay here year-round.”

The two have both filed the necessary paperwork with the government, and now all they can do is focus on football and wait.

“In my heart I feel like I’m a Canadian citizen already,” Bowman said. “If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen. If not, I’m going to keep trying to find a way to make it happen.”