The Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations call for the unity of Azoreans and encouraged young people in the Diaspora "to get involved with the Azorean project."
 
Rui Bettencourt spoke at the House of the Azores of Quebec before the members of associations of the Azorean community. According to him, "it is time for young people to participate in the construction of the Azores, particularly those in the Diaspora who can provide their skills and their enthusiasm to the Azores and Azorean institutions.”
 
Still in Quebec, the Regional Secretary, who was accompanied by the Regional Director for Communities, Paulo Teves, on his first official visit to the Diaspora, met with Sylvie Surprenant, Mayor of Sainte-Thérése; the latter was the emigration destination chosen by many Azoreans in the 1970s. The meeting was also attended by Armando Melo, who was born in the Azores. While in Sainte-Thérèse, he visited the Portuguese Association of Sainte-Thérèse, which was created by emigrants with the aim of maintaining and improving interaction between generations. It also intends to expand Portuguese traditions as well as to support the elderly and young people by providing a programme of activities and a space for socialisation.
 
In his visit to the Azorean community in Canada, Rui Bettencourt also participated in the ceremony celebrating the 20th anniversary of the LusoPresse newspaper in Montreal, where he stated that "whatever the process of development and progress we want for the Azores, the Azorean Diaspora in the world must always be present." The government official highlighted the contribution of everyone in building the Azores, "whether those living in the geographical area of the archipelago or those living in the Diaspora, which scattered around the world." In this context, he urged "Azoreans from all over the world to participate in the development process of the Azores."
 
In addition to the participation of several of local politicians and representatives of various Portuguese organisations, the session was also attended by the following personalities: the Minister of Finance of Quebec, Carlos Leitão; the Member of the National Parliament of Canada, Alexandra Mendes; the Consul General of Portugal in Montreal, José Guedes de Sousa; Olympic athlete of Azorean origin, Meaghan Benfeito, who was distinguished as person of the year by LusoPresse newspaper; Onésimo Teotónio Almeida, professor at Brown University, USA, who delivered a paper on the future of community media in North America.

Founded on December 1, 1996, LusoPresse is a newspaper headquartered in Montreal and is directed at the Portuguese-speaking community in North America. With a circulation of about 6,000 copies, this newspaper is exclusively written in Portuguese.
 
While in Quebec, the Regional Secretary will meet with the Minister for Immigration, Kathleen Weil, and will then travel to Winnipeg and Toronto, where he will visit the Houses of the Azores and other institutions. He will also deliver a lecture at the University of York on the Azores in the 21st century under the Portuguese Studies course.