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History of Spanish in Toronto
Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in Canada with over 43.3% of people reporting that they can speak one or more languages, other than English or French. 163 different languages are spoken in Toronto's numerous immigrant communities. The majority of Canada's Spanish speakers are relatively recent immigrants who come from El Salvador, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Nicaragua. The Canadian Immigration Act of 1952 helped many Spanish speaking people (mainly from South America) enter Canada. The Canadian Immigration Act was intended to remove complications from the immigration process. In practice, the act ended up streamlining immigration for many people. This also means that the majority of "heritage" Spanish speakers in Toronto have lived in the city for only a few generations. Despite this, the Spanish speaking community in Toronto is growing and thriving.

Demographics of Spanish in Toronto
The majority of Spanish speakers in Canada are located in the city centres of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver According to the 2011 census, only 51% of Toronto residents reported English as their mother tongue. 28% of people reported that they regularly speak a language other than English at home. Generally, the proportion of people in Toronto who have mother tongues other than English has been increasing in recent years. In 2011, 2.2% of people in Toronto consider Spanish their mother tongue which makes Spanish the 5th most spoken non-official language in Toronto behind Chinese, Punjabi, Italian, and Tagalog. There are 70,760 people in Toronto who consider Spanish to be their mother tongue. Even though the Spanish speaking community in Toronto is a good size, it is small in comparison to other ethnic communities within the city. For example, the size of Spanish speaking neighbourhoods is smaller compared to many of Toronto's other ethnic neighbourhoods such as Greektown, Koreatown, Chinatown, Little Italy, and Little Portugal.

The Halton Region of the Greater Toronto Area has the highest proportion of people who speak Spanish regularly at home. According to the 2011 census, 4,650 people in Halton speak Spanish at home. The density of Spanish speakers decreases significantly towards the centre of the city.

Status of Spanish in Toronto
It is estimated that Spanish/Hispanic people migrated to Toronto during the 1960-70's. When the Spanish first came to Toronto, they mainly located themselves in the west part of Toronto. This has changed over the years. The widespread of Hispanic immigrants has resulted in Spanish to be in the top ten languages spoken in Toronto today. Now, a mass majority of Hispanic immigrants have established themselves along Bathurst Street, between College and Bloor Street.

There are Spanish publishings in Toronto such as "El Centro" and "La Portada" that link the Spanish speakers in Toronto to their native country. The news that is included in these articles are events from Canada and from Latin American countries. There are also TV and radio stations that are offered in Spanish such as; TLN, T.O Latino, Univision and 24 radio stations which broadcast Spanish music, events, and sports announcements.

With the arrival of the newcomers, there came a need to establish resources and institutions to help them adjust to their new lives. There are many cultural and Spanish language-oriented organizations in Toronto such as the Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples, the Hispanic Development Council, the Bloor Information and Life Skills Centre, and the North York Community House.

Kensington Market became a go-to place for the Hispanic community, as it has been for many other communities throughout Toronto’s history, and by the 1980s, a dense population of Latin American descent was established along Bathurst Street, between College and Bloor Streets, and today, this community expanded northwards in the Jane and Finch area.

During the 1990s, many of the professionals who had come to attend university and increase their professional accreditation and language skills, intended to stay in Canada, and aimed for full citizenship- leading them to be more active in city affairs, conferences and initiatives.

Institutional Support for Spanish in Toronto
Latin American native speakers have settled in Toronto since the early 60’s and since then, have had to overcome many challenges to adapt to Toronto and its lifestyle. This is why organizations such as Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples, the Hispanic Development Council, Bloor Information and Life Skills Centre and the North York Community House have all been established in order to help the Spanish newcomers to overcome the hurdles of life in the city of Toronto. They provide the Latin American people with advice as well as with finding jobs and education.

According to the TCDSB (Toronto Catholic District School Board), there is a special program called the “Heritage Languages” program which was put in place in 1977 by the Ministry of Education of Canada for international students. Because of this program, the Spanish-speaking population is able to gain an education as well as practice their heritage language.

There are several social institutions that help with the preservation of the Spanish language. Such institutions that are provided for the general public of Toronto, are St. James, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Anthony, St. Augustine of Canterbury, and St. John the Baptist parish. Besides churches, the city of Toronto offers social institutions such as community centres, and non-profit organizations. The main objective of such facilities is to help new comers with their necessities, such as; housing, translators, educational workshops, youth programs, work resources, and volunteer opportunities. York community center, and CSSP Non-Profit Organization offer such services.

Latin-American high school students are known to face bullying and discrimination which has an adverse effect on their education. This is why despite having all these adaptations for the Latin American immigrants, there has been a shocking 40% dropout rate in Toronto alone.

According to a report conducted about the social lives of latino high school students in Toronto many factors could account for this occurrence which are linked to the socio-economic status of Latin American families in Toronto.

Furthermore, recent studies have proved that encouraging the use of Spanish as a first language in the school environment enables Spanish native speakers as well as from other generations to maintain their heritage language and excel in English. The use of Spanish, however, was not the main language spoken by the students. They were more prone to use English for, it was a more effective way to communicate with their peers. Mutual understanding is facilitated by English language however, learning a heritage language in parallel helps the student learn better in other areas of their life.

El Centro
El Centro is a Spanish newspaper based in Toronto that reports on Canadian affairs as well as the affairs of Latin American countries.

La Portada
La Portada is another Toronto based Spanish newspaper. It focuses on reporting Canadian news its readers. The name "La Portada" is after a natural stone arch monument off the coast of Chile.

Univision
Univision is a large American Spanish media company that broadcasts sports, dramas, news, and reality series. The programming is targeted to Spanish speaking people in North America.

Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe is the name of a Catholic church in downtown Toronto. Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic title for the Virgin Mary which is typically associated with a depiction of her the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The church located in downtown Toronto holds religious services in Spanish and is associated with Our Lady of Guadalupe School which teaches Spanish immersion to elementary school children.

Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples
The centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples is a non-profit, charitable organization that aims to help new immigrants from Spanish speaking countries. The organization includes support for Spanish speakers through youth programs, volunteering opportunities, and AIDS prevention programs.

Hispanic Development Council
The Hispanic Development Council is a non-profit organization that promotes the interest of Spanish speaking youth in Canada. The council accomplishes this by hosting events Spanish social, cultural, and sporting events.