Today, Montreal is a progressive city, extremely diverse and multicultural. People have flocked to the Greater Montreal area from all parts of the globe, for many years. As we gear up to celebrate Italian week, let’s take a look at some of the communities that contribute to our celebrated diversity, making Montreal one of the most open-minded, tolerant and welcoming cities in the world.
Italian
With something in the region of 280,000 residents of Italian ancestry, this community makes up around 7% of the population in Montreal. In fact, Italian is the fifth most commonly spoken language in the city.
Throughout the month of August, the city will be decked out in the famous green, white and red of Il Tricolore, as Montreal’s italfestMTL gets underway. This popular cultural event, which celebrates all aspects of Italian history, art and food, was formerly known as Italian Week. However, this year the festival has rebranded, a story which mtltimes.ca brought to you earlier this month.
Some of the 2021 italfestMTL highlights will include comedy performances by Guido Grasso and Joe Cacchione, as well as musical concerts by Anna Liani, Daniela Fiorentino and Brigitte Pace. There’s also a fashion show scheduled, which seeks to shine a light on Italian-Canadian designers, and of course, what celebration of Italian culture would be complete without a culinary celebration? Expect to see chefs cooking up their favourite recipes throughout the month.
Chinese
Making up almost 3% of the city’s population, there are approximately 110,000 people of Chinese descent living in Montreal today. The city’s Chinatown region has been around for 200 years or more, and is home to a bustling nightlife, with plenty of food stalls, restaurants and shops.
Chinatown also hosts several important cultural festivals, many of which are important to the Chinese community, of course. But you’re just as likely to see green fortune cookies on St Patrick’s Day, as you are to see the Chinese New Year being celebrated, since the district celebrates a wide range of global events.
Sadly, in recent years, Chinatown is decreasing in size. Particularly due to events of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese-Canadians are now coming under increasing pressure to sell their properties to developers.
First Nations
What would this great city be without the contribution of Indigenous people? In recent years, steps have been taken to better acknowledge the city’s connection with such communities, most notably the addition of the Great Tree of Peace to the city’s flag.
This traditional white pine symbol represents the five nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, sometimes referred to as the Iroquois Confederacy. The Haudenosaunee have a long and historic connection to the city, which was once called Kawenote Teiontiakon in Kanien’kéha, the Mohawk language.
The move was celebrated by no less than the Prime Minister himself. Justin Trudeau described the decision to add the symbol to the flag as, “a tremendous and historic step forward for Montreal.”
Indian
With around 50,000 citizens, the Indian community accounts for something in the region of 1.2% of Montreal’s population. They are, of course, part of the wider East Indian community, which is one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the country.
Perhaps one of the most obvious ways in which the city benefits from this wonderful community is through food. Celebrated establishments such as Atma, Resto Darbar and Le 409 all serve up fabulous Indian cuisine, and are vegetarian-friendly too.
Then of course, there is sport. We might associate this section of the population with cricket, and it’s certainly true that there are plenty of teams and players affiliated with the Montreal Cricket Association. But there’s a deep love of sport in general flowing through the veins of this particular community.
It’s not just playing, either. Sports betting, particularly on football, tennis and of course cricket, is increasingly popular with Indian players. Those wishing to bet on tennis can do so at asiabet.org, which offers an expert guide to choosing the right site, ensuring that it is properly licensed and allowing players to find the best bonuses and preferred payment methods, among other benefits.
British
Around 6.5% of Montreal’s citizens, which is approximately 265,000 people, descend from the United Kingdom. This connection with the Brits remains clearly visible today, especially in the city’s flag. The thistle represents the Scots, while the red rose of Lancaster is symbolic of the English.
One of our favourite cultural events imported from the UK comes courtesy of our Scottish brethren, in the shape of the Montreal Highland Games. The 45th annual renewal of the event, a celebration of all things Scottish, actually took place earlier this month.
Included among the festivities were a bagpiping contest, highland dance displays and a new world record for caber tossing. Jason Baines managed 161 tosses in an hour, raising money for good causes into the bargain.
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