Little Maghreb (French: Petit Maghreb) is a Montreal neighbourhood in the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension. The neighbourhood is centered on fifteen blocks of Jean Talon Street stretching from Saint Michel Boulevard in the West to Pie-IX Boulevard in the East.[1] North African merchants in the area have joined together to create a Little Maghreb identity for the neighbourhood, in the same way as Chinatown had become a symbol for Chinese Montrealers, and Little Italy had become the focal point of the city's Italian community.[2] This neighbourhood is the first of its kind in North America.[3]
Originally a part of the nondescript Saint-Michel neighbourhood, the late 1990s marked the beginning of the neighbourhood's North African flavour. This was a product of the opening of the Dar Al-Arkam Mosque on the corner of Jean-Talon and 17th Avenue and the arrival of thousands of immigrants from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.[4]
Little Maghreb is served by the Saint-Michel Metro station on the Blue Line.
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