The bell of H.M.C.S. Morden tolled for new Canadian Citizen Lili Krushel, as the first in a new tradition welcoming new citizens.

A resident of Morden, Krushel works as an instructor at Red River College for planning and economics and is the owner of Bella's Castle.

Krushel has been on the course of citizenship for 13 years and says it's an honour to be the first in this ritual.

"It has been a long journey, and this feels like the achievement that I've finally become a citizen, and I'm welcome in this community. My favourite part of Morden is its people; us newcomers feel very much at home here."

In 1941, H.M.C.S. Morden was commissioned to fight Nazi Germany in the Atlantic Ocean, and this Flower class ship was instrumental in helping rid the world of one of its most brutal regimes. Mayor Brandon Burley says he got the idea to include the bell in welcoming new citizens when remembering the stories his grandfather would share about his service on a Flower-Class corvette class ship similar to H.M.C.S Morden.

"We're using the bell to acknowledge that we are an accepting and warm community. I think in this way we can forward the legacy, and the honour of this ship and what if stood for."

Burley says they are proud to hang both the wheel and bell in the Civic Centre and wishes to continue this tradition in memory of their namesake.

Lili Krushel and Mayor Brandon Burley.