During WWII, there were some trouble in Montreal with the Italian community, however it improved once again in 1945. After the war, Canada once again let for Italians to immigrate to Canada, and hundreds of thousands came. They came under government regulations, which favoured keeping families together. On average, each Italian family brought over 15 people, which soon made the Italian community the largest. (After the French and English) in Montreal.
Montreal Italians are likely to say that their families came from Calabria, Friuli or Sicily rather than Italy. Neighbourhoods reflect this. Ville Saint-Michel�s southern part is strongly Sicilian. Those from the regions of Calabria, Campania and Molise tend to live a few blocks north and in neighbouring St. Leonard. Ville Emard and Notre-Dame-de-Grace have many Italians from the area around Campobasso and the central region of Marche.
The northeastern communities of St. Michel (now part of Montreal) and St. Leonard were particularly attractive to Italian developers. Italian builders such as Giuseppe Silvestri and Luigi Barone built hundreds of these mini-palazzos and advertised them as dream homes on Montreal�s Italian cable television. They knew Italian workers wanted homes which reflected their success and new status in Canada so they made sure the homes were bright and airy with chandeliers, marble in the hall and a cantina (a wine cellar, a kitchen, and pantry) in the basement.
As new citizens, Italian Montrealers knew education was important and felt that while French was important, English was crucial to success in the new land. In Quebec, public schools follow Catholic or Protestant religious line. Most of those in St. Leonard were under the French language St. Leonard Roman Catholic School Commission. In 1964, the Commission introduced bilingual classes in several local schools but in the fall of 1967, the Commission decided to take put bilingual classes.
Italians, who made up � of St Leonard, wanted the right to choose the language of education for their children. The English Catholic Parents Association was formed and set up secret English language classes for children. The Commission voted to maintain bilingual education for one year, but this decision was opposed by those who felt the delay would stop movement back to a French-only system.
On September 10, 1969 October 1 500 French-only supporters marched up Jean Talon through the business centre of St. Leonard. The group pushed through police barricades and rioted when they came up against hundreds of Italian residents on the other side.
The crisis had repercussions in Quebec�s on-going language and education debates. A month after the riot the provincial government passed Bill 63 giving parents a choice in the language of education but that ended in 1974 when Bill 22 made French the official language of Quebec. Under Tat legislation, students were tested for competency before going to an English language school. Families were furious as some children entered French-only classes while others went to English-language schools. The current legislation, Bill 101, demands that almost all-new immigrants attend French language schools. Only those parents with six years of education in English in Canada can send their children to English language public schools in Quebec.
Today, about 80% of Italian Montrealers speak French and over 60% speak French and English. Most also speak some Italian at home. The Italian community is highly integrated into all levels of city life and the province has trade offices in Milan and Rome.
There are many bars and restaurants in Little Italy. When the World Cup comes every four years, the Italians get together and watch the game in the bars. If their country of Italy wins, they cheer and celebrate. You will often see Italian flags waiving if you walk down the streets of Little Italy, usually when there are soccer tournaments such as the European Cup, and the all-famous World Cup. Soccer is the most played and watched sport in Italy, and the Italian immigrants keep watching it here in Canada. The smaller Italian soccer leagues are broadcast on TV, and for soccer fans, there is no missing of any game.
