The Consul General of Malta to Canada, Dr Raymond C. Xerri recently visited the Gozitan/Maltese community in the City of Whitby, Durham Region in the Province of Toronto.
The last visit made by a Consul General to this region where many Maltese/Gozitans live, was by the first Malta Trade Commissioner and Honorary Consul General, John Pisani in 1972 when he was appointed.
Consul General, Dr Raymond C. Xerri was welcomed by Theresa Bugelli, the coordinator of the Maltese Cultural Club of Durham, in the City of Whitby.
Dr Xerri, who was appointed Consul General in July 2019, met a set number of Maltese /Gozitans citizens and persons of Gozitan/Maltese descent due to the Covid-19 restrictions and delivered a question-and-answer session mainly about the benefits of obtaining Maltese citizenship, passports, studying and opening a business in Gozo and Malta, among other issues.
This visit in the Durham Region is the first in list of similar visits to remote places in the Province of Ontario in light of the growing demand of second, third and fourth generation Gozitans/Maltese in Canada wishing to learn about their ancestral country which often leads to applying for Maltese citizenship and a Maltese passport among other services.
There are some 147,000 Gozitan and Maltese-Canadians living in Canada from coast to coast. 52% are of Gozitan ancestry and have reached the fourth generation in certain cities and provinces in Canada. While the latest statistics show that there are 480 Gozitan-Canadians living in Gozo.
Dr Xerri is the son of a Gozitan migrant family in the United States where he was born. In 1991, Raymond returned to Malta where he obtained dual American – Maltese citizenship.
He has addressed, chaired and mentored many local, national, continental, regional and international conferences, seminars and gatherings related to politics, diplomacy, international relations, the environment and particularly in the area of diaspora studies. Dr Xerri is an author, editor and producer of numerous publications, multimedia and multilingual productions.
He is also a founder, co-founder and active member of a number of Gozitan, Maltese and internationally-based Maltese diaspora organisations.
Dr Xerri was the main organiser of twenty-eight editions of the Gozo International Celebration in Gozo (Malta) with attendance and audience from 51 different countries.
He has received numerous international awards and is the initiator and editor of the production series, Gozo and the Gozitans.
His full biography can be found here [1].