Marcelo’s transition revitalizes Montreal’s Portuguese neighborhood

The visit of the President of the Republic to the Portuguese neighborhood of Montreal on Thursday brought life to the streets, where dozens of Portuguese-Canadians gathered, with whom Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa came into contact almost one after another.

While walking at an intense pace, the head of state visited several Portuguese commercial establishments: he surprised a client who was getting highlights at a hairdresser, went behind the counter at a steakhouse and ate pastel de nata in a cafe.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also stopped at an Azorean-owned hardware store, where he decided to buy a Barcelos rooster, and entered a Portuguese bank branch, giving out hugs and kisses on the way up the Alameda St. Laurent to Parc de Portugal.

The presence of the President of the Republic, available for countless photographs and time for good-natured conversation, enlivened the evening in the Portuguese quarter, causing laughter and making some emigrants feel emotional.

“He fosters closeness to the people, he is an affectionate person, so we love him very much,” the woman commented.

The city of Montreal was the first point of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s official visit to Canada, a country where, according to the 2021 census, about 450 thousand people of Portuguese descent, including Portuguese and Portuguese descendants, live.

In a park in Portugal, the head of state posed in front of a mural of fado singer Amalia Rodrigues and spoke with representatives of associations from the Azores, where most of the Portuguese in Canada come from, as well as Minho, Ribatejo and Nazaré, many in typical costumes.

The President of the Republic began his walking tour at the Misso de Santa Cruz, a Catholic institution founded in 1964 that has a community center, a school where Portuguese is taught, and the church where Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa prayed.

After this moment of friendship with the Montreal community, the President of the Republic boarded a plane to Toronto, where he will meet this Friday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The visit to Canada, with a program dedicated to Portuguese communities, from Wednesday to Sunday coincides with the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the first officially registered Portuguese emigrants in this country.

The so-called pioneers arrived in 1953 after the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The President of the Republic in Canada is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs João Gomes Cravinho and the deputies João Azevedo and Castro from the PS, Francisco Pimentel from the PSD, Diogo Pacheca de Amorim from Chega, Rodrigo Saraiva, parliamentary leader of the Liberal Initiative, Bruno Díaz from the PCP and José Soeiro from Blocka de Esquerda.