Dimitris Katsaounis, who left Greece with his family during the years of the financial crisis and now works in Canada in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), spoke on Voice of Greece Radio and the program “Our Global Voice” with Dimitris Kontogiannis.
He described the challenges of adapting to life in a new country, the strong presence of the Greek community in Quebec – which includes Montreal – and its efforts to preserve Greek identity.
Katsaounis highlighted the Socrates–Demosthenes Greek day school, with its five campuses, where children are taught not only French but also Greek daily, and where events celebrating Greek traditions are regularly held. Similar activities are organized by the wider Greek community of Quebec, estimated at 65,000–70,000 people of Greek descent. All of this, he noted, helps maintain close ties with Greece and cultivates Greek cultural heritage among younger generations.
He also commented on Canada’s trade dispute with the United States, which began months ago when President Trump imposed tariffs on certain Canadian products. According to Katsaounis, the conflict is moving toward resolution. Despite the difficulties it caused, the trade war “awakened” Canadian national sentiment and led to the removal of trade barriers that Canadian provinces had been imposing on one another.
In-studio production: Lida Sidiropoulou