Portuguese Canadian Club of Sarnia Saved at the Last Minute

The Portuguese Canadian Club of Sarnia, although officially founded in 1982, began to spring into life during the 1970s when the inaugural Feast of St. Anthony was celebrated here. Four decades later, the community organization was saved at the last minute from becoming the latest casualty on a growing list of Portuguese associations across Canada.

Although the organization struggled with forming a Board and attracting new members before the pandemic, the situation worsened when the restrictions were lifted and life got back to normal. Hall bookings diminished and many older members either became ill or passed away. The youth, for the most part, continued to show disinterest for the organization.

Over the past summer, the Portuguese Canadian Club of Sarnia published a note on its Facebook page announcing its last event and the inevitable closing of its doors:

“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the closing of The Portuguese Canadian Club of Sarnia. Date to still to be determined, and a decision that did not come lightly. However, that being said we will be having our LAST event October 14^th.

[…] We would also like to ask that everyone wear red and green in true Portuguese style! Come join us in saying goodbye to a club that has brought us all so many memories, traditions, and kept our culture alive within our community.Hope to see everyone out to celebrate the ending of an era, as well light up the dance floor one last time. Vamos mais uma vez dançar um balinho!”

This difficult but fated announcement seemed to have sparked the passion within some members of the community who formed a Board to keep the organization operating. On November 21 of this year, the Portuguese Canadian Club of Sarnia retracted the previous announcement and published the following post on its Facebook page: “To the Portuguese Canadian Community of Sarnia and surrounding areas. After a period of uncertainty, we are very excited to announce that the Portuguese Club will remain open under new leadership. On behalf of the new Board of Directors, we want to personally thank the outgoing board for all of the hard work they have put in over the years to keep the doors open. We know it hasn’t been easy, but your efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. The Portuguese Community in Sarnia is a proud one. Our mission is to continue to promote our culture and provide a place where we can gather and inspire our future generations to see our community through the eyes of all those who came before us. We want to honour our history but also look forward to our exciting future. Over the coming weeks and months, the new Board will be announcing our plans and goals as we move forward with the transition. As members of the community, we value your opinion. Please share and forward this message to as many members of the community you can think of. With your support, we can create a Club we can all be proud of. Thank you.”

The Board of Directors is composed as follows:

The organization’s building was purchased in 1989 and then paid in record time. For more than three decades, thousands of people gathered here to celebrate memorable events that were always filled with camaraderie, great food, and plenty of music. The home of the Portuguese Canadian Club of Sarnia was also a place where many people from diverse backgrounds celebrated religious events and personal milestones. The Club’s headquarters is the sole remaining landmark that celebrates our collective presence in this Southern Ontario locality.

The 2021 Canadian Census reports that Sarnia has a population of 72,000 people, of whom 545 have knowledge of the Portuguese language, 415 consider it their mother tongue and 215 speak it most at home. The Census also reveals that 215 residents of the city were born in Portugal and a total of 865 people who live here declared to be of Portuguese background.