President Milanović: It’s nice to see Croatian children in Canada learning Croatian
“It’s very touching and nice to see you learn the language that is part of us. You can be a third, fourth generation Croatian and not know the Croatian language, but to speak and master the Croatian language is a big deal,” the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović told the pupils learning the Croatian language in St. Sebastian Catholic Elementary School in Mississauga. President Milanović visited the school on the first day of his working visit to Canada during which he will visit the Croatian community in Ontario and institutions that assemble Canadian Croatians.
He told the pupils they should continue to learn Croatian and try teaching it in the future to their children. “Language, some signs of identity, the Croatian football jerseys you are wearing, that’s recognisable all over the world and our people are very proud of that because it’s something behind which are quality, work and achievements. We have our problems and our lives that differ from life in Canada, but every Croatian person is aware that there are very many people in the world whose hearts beat for the homeland”, President Milanović said during his visit with the pupils learning Croatian and their teachers who presented to him the tradition of Croatian language study in schools in Ontario.
President Milanović is on a working visit to Canada with his wife Sanja Musić Milanović, and after visiting St. Sebastian Catholic Elementary School in Mississauga, he visited one of the most important parishes in Canada, the Queen of Peace Croatian Franciscan Centre in Norval.
Canada is home to a very large Croatian community. According to data of Canada’s statistical office based on the 2021 census, 130,000 Croatians live there as Canadian citizens and only a small number of them about 11,000 also hold Croatian citizenship. The largest number of Croatians and their descendants live in Ontario, mainly in Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, Burlington and Norval.
During his visit to Queen of Peace Croatian Franciscan Centre in Norval, President Milanović met with the Franciscans who head the parish. They acquainted him with the rich history and role of the Queen of Peace Croatian Franciscan Centre, which ranks among the largest Croatian parishes, and its specific feature are amenities that make it a genuine centre for Croatians.
In Burlington on Saturday, President Milanović met with Gregg Ruhl, CEO of Algoma Central Corporation. Algoma is a Canadian marine shipping company operating the largest fleet of ships in the Great Lakes. In its fleet are ships built in the 3. Maj shipyard in Rijeka. They discussed the Canadian corporation’s business cooperation with the Croatian shipbuilding industry given its interest in commissioning more ships from 3. Maj, which was confirmed at the meeting. The Rijeka shipyard is currently constructing and equipping one ship for Algoma.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić