The February/March 2016 issue of Panoram Italia, an Italian-Canadian magazine for Montreal and Ottawa residents, features four articles about researching Italian-Canadian ancestry, and it is available online for free.
The general director of the Société généalogique canadienne-française (SGCF), Suzanne Galaise, said in an interview in the magazine, “Italian immigration to the province dates back to the 18th century when there were just a handful of Italians in New France.”
Madame Galaise said there are three main Italian parishes: Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, Notre-Dame-de-la-Défense and Notre-Dame-de-la-Consolata.
She noted that Italian immigrants sometimes changed their names to better fit in. For example, the first Italian to set foot in Canada was Giovanni Caboto. You may recognize his name in English as John Cabot or in French as Jean Cabot.
The magazine is available in English and French and can be read online here.
Thanks to Madame Galaise for the tip.
