Little Portugal

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Little Portugal is located in the downtown west of Toronto and covers a solid community with social, cultural, commercial and religious institutions. In the 15th century Portugal was the main European country “discovering” the world by sea but it failed to colonize Canada. The first wave of Portuguese immigrants arriving to Canada occurred in the 1950’s, throughout the 60’s and 70’s the number increased. In 2001 more than 350,000 Portuguese lived in Canada and more than 95,000 in the city of Toronto. Portuguese immigrants shaped one of the most visible ethnic neighborhoods in Toronto, including people from Portugal mainland, the islands Azores and Madeira, and from former colonies Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde. In 2014 the reason for Portuguese to emigrate remains the same: low standards of living and limited socio-economic opportunities.