Little Maghreb: The Faces and Places of Montreal's Diasporic North African Neighbourhood

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.