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Little Maghreb: The faces and places of Montreal's diasporic North African neighbourhood

Located at the end of the Blue Line, Montreal's Little Maghreb of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension is rich with diasporic Arab and Amazigh communities.

Rachel Cheng

Rachel Cheng

February 6, 2024- Read time: 8 min
Little Maghreb: The faces and places of Montreal's diasporic North African neighbourhoodPâtisserie Trésors Sucrés, run by owner Smain and his wife, both Amazigh from Algeria, are among many who make Little Maghreb what it is for Montreal—a vibrant micro nieghbourhood. | Photograph: Rachel Holly Cheng / @rachelhollycheng

It’s Saturday morning in Petit Maghreb. If any of the businesses here has a TV, you can bet that they are streaming the African Cup. The coffee shops are full of men who have let their coffees get cold while watching someone score a goal, and in the bakery, people keep one eye on the screen and another on the bread.

Located at the end of the Blue Line, this section of Jean-Talon is so dense with businesses that you could miss one if you blink. The neighbourhood has long been one of immigrants. As Italian businesses on Jean-Talon moved to other areas, barbers, halal butchers, and cafés serving strong coffee and just as strong mint tea moved in.

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