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Lessons From the Former Great White North: Living, Loving and Immigrating in the New Toronto

by Lygia Navarro
Toronto, Canada

“Take a subway or streetcar and, above the thick parkas and closely-wrapped scarves, the faces around you include a wide range of skin tones—any likely to be topped by a Toronto Maple Leafs cap. For lunch, stop for Nicaraguan nacatamales, chouriço in Little Portugal, Vietnamese pho, or bison as cooked on native First Nation reserves. Wherever you go, you will hear any of the city’s more than 140 languages and dialects—as well as the lilting accented English of immigrants who have dedicated themselves to becoming part of their new country. Turn on the television, and you’ll see the CBC evening news hosted by two first-generation immigrants born in Jamaica and Sri Lanka.”  Lygia Navarro

In matters of immigration and growing diversity, what might the United States learn from its neighbor to the north, Toronto, Canada? In our new Story from the Field, writer Lygia Navarro explores this question in her adopted city.

Photographs by Lygia Navarro

To read this story, click here.

Documents, Links and Related News

Citizen and Immigration in Canada
Immigration Portal – Living in Toronto
Institute for Research on Public Policy (Diversity, Immigration & Integration)