Leslieville Was Notably Portuguese

By Devin Meireles

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the following article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position and policy of lusocanada.com, Luso Canada Media Corp. and its administration

The Portuguese diaspora is large, especially among the islanders. Azoreans and Madeirans emigrated far and wide, reaching long distances away from their Atlantic motherland. They landed in places like my hometown, Toronto, where they were able to entrench themselves in the local folklore while maintaining their culture and traditions.

There has been a lot of contribution from the Portuguese in the city’s contemporary days and now, many generations later, they continue to make history. While Toronto has grown amuck with the gentrification of older areas, which has led to parts of its cultural influence getting lost, there are millennials, like myself, who can respectively go back to their childhood neighborhoods and not recognize it as it was. The city is changing, and seemingly faster than ever, as we collectively keep building on the foundation that was set by the pioneers of our communities.

Among the Portuguese, most obvious, has been the mutation of Portugal Village into an array of bars and restaurants that now makes a trendy hotspot to attract hipsters and party goers. Only a few of the Portuguese businesses remain on that strip of Dundas Street where the community earned its namesake. It’s a distant memory of what it once was.

However lesser known, was a decent representation of Luso-Canadians in the east end of Toronto. Leslieville was where this writer grew up and remembers a time when Azoreans composed a large fraction of the neighborhood.

As the area grew with immigrants in the late eighties, St. Joseph’s Catholic Parish on Leslie Street began to offer Mass in Portuguese. The adjacent elementary school had dozens of luso-descendant students to complement the church. An engaged community attended Sunday service with their families. The parish carried old traditions and celebrated festas for the patron saints. Beautiful processions took place around the city block that concluded at the church. That was the center of activity that united everyone alike.

Home video footage from 1991 showcases when this writer paraded for the Espirito Santo Celebration—the Great Feast of the Holy Ghost Festival. My sponsor carried silverware, that of a crown, over my head as done back home on the island. The intersection of Curzon and Queen Street East is ostensibly unrecognizable as the procession turned the corner. The ceremony closed with a large gathering at the parish hall basement. That was one of many parties that happened there. Spectators would behold the wonderful events and receptions. Some of my fondest memories took place during that time with those people that shared my heritage.

Leslieville was filled with Portuguese people who were mostly from the Azores. They found their forever homes away from the saturated west end hub that we all recognize today. My grandparents were one of the first to do so, others followed, and an offshoot from the larger community in Portugal Village was later formed. That’s not the only place they went, as there are multiple areas where the Portuguese decided to plant their flags in the Greater Toronto Area, but Leslieville was one of the larger groups, enough to necessitate their own priest within walking distance.

That was a brief moment in history as the church reverted to an English speaking priest in the mid-nineties. The festivals ceased thereafter however many of those Portuguese people stayed in the area. Many of this writer’s comrades still live there to this day. Like most, they stay connected by keeping close with their family, paying attention to local media outlets that cater to the community, and of course visiting the west end. However that has changed just as much and trekking across the city for weekend shopping at the bakery is undoubtedly less frequented. Both Leslieville and Portugal Village have been gentrified.

As Toronto propels itself with new developments to shape the future, the contributions of immigrants cannot be forgotten. Those pioneers pushed forward to keep expressions of their culture alive and were united on that front. These Portuguese pockets are significant to where we are today. Conclusively, it doesn’t really matter where they land, from east to west, the Portuguese played an integral part in the history of the city and that of the country.

It is this writer’s conviction that we need to preserve the collective memory of their influence on these neighborhoods, as knowing this history will be pivotal to transform the neighborhoods in which we reside. Leslieville was short lived among the Portuguese diaspora, however significant to those that lived within it and still do.

Editor’s note: you can watch a video of the Espirito Santo Parade, at Leslieville, in 1991, here:

About the author: Devin Meireles was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, where growing up around the Portuguese diaspora had a profound effect on him. Now he volunteers to carry on the culture and give back to the community. In 2022, he published a book to preserve his rich Portuguese ancestry, which was a narrative nonfiction novel about his grandparents’ immigration to Canada. He has also been featured in literary journals, health magazines, and cultural newspapers. Apart from creative writing, he enjoys adding to a collection of tattoos, banknotes and travel stamps. His profession is in the healthcare industry as an operations leader where his expertise routinely ensures day-to-day business with high level coordination. He lives near Lake Ontario with his wife and dog.