Indian businesses and services in Montreal, Canada

Parc-Extension, the dense grid of streets north of Outremont bounded by Autoroute 40 and Boulevard de l'Acadie, is where much of Montreal's South Asian life is concentrated. Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan families live side by side, and the streets around Jean-Talon Street West are lined with grocers, sweet shops, restaurants and stores selling saris and salwar suits. Parc and Acadie stations on the metro's blue line serve the neighbourhood directly.

Beyond Parc-Ex, Côte-des-Neiges, one of the city's most diverse districts, counts Tamil and Bengali families among its many communities, and the West Island has temples of its own, among them the Hindu Temple of Quebec in Dollard-des-Ormeaux. Hindu temples, among them Tamil temples serving the Sri Lankan community, along with gurdwaras and mosques, are spread across the island, and many hold their largest gatherings on Sundays.

A practical note for newcomers: Montreal works in French first. Many South Asian businesses serve customers in English and in Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil or Hindi as well as French, but government services, signage and official paperwork are in French. Parc-Ex is compact enough to explore on foot from either metro station, and in winter most celebrations move indoors to halls and temples. Laval, across the Rivière des Prairies to the north, has a South Asian community of its own.