The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, visits Canada between September 13 and 17, as part of a trip which marks 70 years since the arrival of the first Portuguese in this country.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will be in Canada between September 13 and 17, according to the request for authorization to Parliament, available on the website of the Assembly of the Republic.

Last year, Portugal and Canada celebrated 70 years of diplomatic relations. This year marks the seventieth anniversary of the arrival of the first officially registered Portuguese immigrants, in 1953.

The Head of State will travel to Montreal and Toronto and will have meetings with representatives of the Portuguese community, the Palácio de Belém confirmed to Lusa.

According to data from the Emigration Observatory, in 2021 around 134,000 citizens were born in Portugal. The number of Portuguese descendants is much higher, estimated at around 400,000 people, according to 2021 census data.

Also in September, after Canada, the President of the Republic goes to New York, in the United States, to participate in the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations, between September 17 and 23.

The last time Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa participated in the UN General Assembly was two years ago, in 2021, and in his speech he recalled the former President of the Republic Jorge Sampaio, who died that month, for its activity of welcoming refugees.

Last year, it was Prime Minister António Costa who was in New York for the 77th United Nations General Assembly, marked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.