Abstract

Fascist propaganda met with great success in Italian-Canadian communities, especially among members of the largest Italian community in Montreal, until Italy's declaration of war in 1940. The exaltation of the new Italy was organized and expressed by religious leaders and the Italian-language press, which were eager to encourage an Italian national identity; Protestant pastor Liborio Lattoni took a leading role in transforming Italian social societies into pro-Fascist organizations. The signing of the Lateran agreements in 1929 enhanced the image of Benito Mussolini in Catholic Quebec, but the invasion of Ethiopia damaged his reputation irreparably among Anglo-Canadians.