The area around Montreal’s rue Jean-Talon, long known as Little Italy, has recently been renamed “Little Maghreb” by local traders. Montreal, a city of 2 million people, is divided between French speakers in the east and north and English speakers in the southeast, but it is also an ethnic patchwork. Little Maghreb is home to many of Quebec’s North African population, especially Algerians. Butcher shops here are halal, travel agents offer cheap flights to North Africa, and bakeries sell cakes and kitchen utensils from back home. We’re here as a result of a selective immigration policy, because Canada and Quebec invited us and chose us.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 03, 2017 11:03 UTC