Madam Speaker, it was an honour to meet Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, his foreign minister João Gomes Cravinho and other members of the Portuguese Parliament, who were all formally welcomed to Canada by our Prime Minister. They were in Canada to celebrate 70 years of Portuguese immigration to Canada and to strengthen Canada-Portugal relations. It was an outstanding visit, which highlighted the extraordinary contributions of the now 500,000 Portuguese Canadians.
It was also a pleasure to have them visit my riding of Davenport for a tour of Little Portugal and for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Magellan Centre, a transformational housing project that will provide Portuguese-Canadian seniors 57 affordable rental homes and 256 long-term care beds.
President Rebelo de Sousa reminded Portuguese Canadians that they are the pride of Portugal, having kept the Portuguese identity alive for decades while also contributing to Canadian society. As our Prime Minister has said, diversity is truly our strength, and Canada is stronger because of the meaningful contributions of the Portuguese community to our nation.
Viva Canada. Viva Portugal.