About Us

A group of Spanish women organized the celebration of Christmas in 1972 with women and Spanish-speaking children. That demonstrated the need for an organization to serve the growing Hispanic community in Toronto.

The Centre was founded under the leadership of director Gloria Montero, sociologist Ana Alberro, and immigration counselor Rempel Kathi.

The Center received funding from Immigrant Settlement and Adaption Program (ISAP) of the Canada Employment Insurance Commission (CEIC). At that time, the Centre was located on Dupont Street near Davenport, which included a counseling program. New immigrants from Ecuador and Colombia increased the need for services.

The arrival of refugees from Chile, Uruguay and Argentina grew the community even more, and the Centre became the home of additional community development initiatives. The Centre also established a volunteer, legal consultation program with law students from the University of Toronto, not just for the purpose of establishing legal advice for Spanish-speaking workers, but also to establish a relationship between future lawyers of the province and the Hispanic community. This initiative has proved highly beneficial during the history of the Center.

The Centre started English as a Second Language (ESL) programs and in 1981, founded the Women’s Program.

The Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples has added youth, volunteer and AIDS prevention programs. It is happy to serve tens of thousands of Spanish speaking peoples in Toronto and throughout Canada each and every year.