The President of the Government participated on Friday in a meeting with the Portuguese community in Canada in the context of the official visit the President of the Republic is making to Canada. This country hosts a large Azorean emigrant community.

During the meeting, the President of the Republic honoured several Azorean emigrants and Azorean descendants with decorations, including singer Nelly Furtado, banker Duarte Manuel Ponte Miranda, businessman Emanuel Linhares, the Luso-Canadian Charitable Society and Luso-Can Tuna.

After the bestowal ceremony of commendations and the performances of António Zambujo and Nelly Furtado, the President of the Azorean Government participated in the event with members of the Azorean Community: the President of the House of Ontario, Lucília Simas, the President of the International Forum for Rights and Security, Mário Silva, city councillor Frank Monteiro and David Tavares, founder and CEO of Globestar Systems, among others.

Vasco Cordeiro is in Toronto to participate in two events that will take place in the context of the visit made by the President of the Republic to Canada. On Saturday, the President of the Regional Government has a scheduled visit to the Luso-Canadian Charitable Society of Toronto, an institution dedicated to assisting people with disabilities.

According to estimates, the Azorean Emigrant Community residing in the province of Ontario makes up 70 percent of the Portuguese community based in that province. The Azorean community has achieved wide recognition at a national and international level in the fields of politics, music and economy, among others.
 
In 2013, the Regional Government celebrated the 60th anniversary of Azorean emigration to Canada with initiatives on all islands.

The first Azoreans came to Canada aboard the ship "Saturnia" and landed at the port of Halifax in 1953.

Nowadays, the Azorean presence is visible in all Canadian provinces through numerous cultural, social and recreation organisations that promote and revitalise the cultural identity of the Azores, including the Houses of the Azores, Folklore Dance Groups, Philharmonic Bands, Holy Spirit Brotherhoods, among others.