COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WITH POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN CELEBRATORY YEAR (2003)

Although 2003 will always be remembered for the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of Portuguese immigration to Canada, the elections to the Council of the Portuguese Communities (Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas) were also an occurrence that deserves to remain in the history books. This is because, for the first time, members of our community associations got heavily involved in the process, especially in the Toronto district, which encompasses Manitoba and most of Ontario.

Montreal/Ottawa, and Vancouver would contribute with one representative each. The Toronto district ran with three lists, from which five members would be elected to the Council: three from the winner and two from the list in second place. From the start, it became evident that the main race would be between lists A and B, although C has its own niche and could very well turn out to be a surprise.

In the Toronto district, the Alliance of Portuguese Clubs and Associations of Ontario entered the electoral race with a list, marking the first time a community organization representing multiple members attempted to secure influence at the political level. Meanwhile, the community of Chatham and its local Portuguese Club represented southwestern Ontario, which harbours thousands of Luso-Canadians. A third group, which represented mainly the union sector but that also had ties to a few community organizations in the Toronto area, also entered the race.

It was not without some fierce competitiveness that the district of Toronto witnessed the campaign unfold. At the time, the community was heavily engaged in our ethnic media. Thus, information was easily transmitted and accessible, which led to the overuse of such mediums not only for the delivery of typical campaign messages but also for the exchange of unpleasantries that should have remained, for the most part, private.

List A – Aliança Pela Comunidade – was mostly composed of members from ACAPO. It was led by Laurentino Esteves, then ACAPO’s Public Relations Officer and Vice-President of Culture at Casa dos Poveiros. It included ACAPO’s Chair of the Council of Presidents, José Eustáquio, Dr. Tomás Ferreira, António Costa and Eduardo Pereira, and alternates António Ribeiro, Rosa de Sousa, Manuela da Silva,José Medeiros and Eduardo Gouveia. It counted on the backing of most clubs and associations, especially those which were members of the Alliance of Portuguese Clubs and Associations of Ontario.

List B – Voz da Comunidade – was led by João Dias. It also included Mário Gomes, Raimundo Favas, Rui Gomes, and Ana Fernandes, along with alternates Joel Filipe, João Ferreira, João Gonçalves, Assunção Pinto, and Nélson Melo. This list was considered to be connected to the union sector and, as such, counted on the support of members of the construction industry. Further to this, Raimundo Favas and Joel Filipe were also influential members of the Portuguese Cultural Centre of Mississauga and Peniche Community Club of Toronto, respectively, two organizations that enjoyed great support.

List C – Sudoeste do Ontário – was led by António do Forno from the Portuguese Club of Chatham. It was the only list from outside the Greater Toronto Area. If it were able to gather the support of the communities outside the GTA, it could become the surprise of this apparent two-horse race.

Elections were held on March 30, 2003. The Toronto district set up voting booths across the Province of Ontario at the following locations: Sault Ste. Marie (Portuguese Association), Kingston (Núcleo Luso-Canadiano de Kingston), Mississauga (Portuguese Cultural Centre), Hamilton (Vasco da Gama F.C.), London (Portuguese Club), Chatham (Portuguese Club), Leamington (Portuguese Community Centre), Winnipeg (Consulate), and Toronto (Casa das Beiras and Casa do Alentejo).

Even though commotion was high during the electoral campaign, voter turnout did not reflect the efforts. The reality is that out of the 97,035 eligible voters, only 2,242 cast a ballot, representing a voter turnout of only 2.31%.

List A was the surprise winner, with 50.3% of the vote (1,128). List B gathered 36.8% (826), while List C came in third with 11.2% (252 votes). This resulted in three members from List A and two from List B being elected to the Council of Portuguese Communities: Laurentino Esteves, José Eustáquio e Tomás Ferreira from List A, and João Dias and Mário Gomes from List B.

The results surprised Laurentino Esteves, then Alternate Member of Portuguese Parliament, who is quoted in Notícias da Aliança as saying that he was not expecting it, although he believed that the right list had won. “This is a deserving list that includes people who, over many years, have dedicated their lives to the community”, Esteves stated. José Eustáquio, then Chair of ACAPO’s Council of Presidents, is also quoted in the April 1, 2003, edition of Notícias da Aliança: “The community proved that the Alliance is its voice. It was great to witness the support from other associations and individuals that are not members of the Alliance. We not only had the support from the community in Toronto but also from outside this area. I want to especially thank the communities of London and Kingston for their great support.”

The Montreal/Ottawa district elected Francisco da Conceição Salvador (List B) and the Vancouver district elected Maria Cândida Alves (List B). Vancouver had the highest voter turnout (3.978%), followed by Toronto (2.31%) and Montreal/Ottawa (1.425%).