Saputo family makes $1M donation to Pier 21 to commemorate arrival in Canada

The Saputo family, known for their dairy products business, has made a $1-million donation to the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Halifax’s Pier 21 to mark their arrival in Canada.

Lino and Mirella Saputo arrived in Canada at Pier 21 in the 1950s from Sicily and Veneto. Lino’s father Giuseppe was a cheesemaker who founded the family’s dairy business in Canada.

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According to Forbes, Lino Saputo’s net worth is now $5.4 billion and Montreal-based Saputo, Inc. is listed at 1,129 on their list of world’s largest public companies.

“It means so much to us to be able to share this moment with our children and grandchildren,” said Lino Saputo during an announcement Tuesday.

“We are proud to support the museum, and play a part in sharing the rich heritage of this historic place with all Canadians. It is not only our story that can be discovered here, but the family histories of the many immigrants whose contributions helped shape Canada.”

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The museum says they have renamed a hall in their honour — near the gateway where the couple would have first arrived in this country.

“The story of the Saputo family’s determination, passion and ultimate success epitomizes the important impact that immigration has on our culture and economy,” said Marie Chapman, CEO of the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, in a news release.

WATCH: Pier 21’s wartime history

Chapman went on to say the gift will allow the museum to continue its mandate of educating people on Canada’s rich history of immigration.

The donation was made through the Mirella and Lino Saputo Foundation.

In April, their son Lino Saputo Jr. and his wife Amelia donated $10 million to St. Francis Xavier University — the largest donation the Nova Scotia university has ever received.

That money will be used to renovate the university’s fitness centre.