Our Pioneers – We Owe it to Them

The adventure undertaken by our pioneers did not start the moment they waved farewell to their families, neither the instant they boarded a boat filled with strangers nor the day they arrived at their destination. It is a blurred point that encompasses all those occurrences, for some took a while to simply arrive…even if they were already here.

Those 69 men who disembarked the Saturnia on that fateful May 13, 1953, had chosen Canada in an attempt to improve the lives of their families. In the process, little did they know that they would be helping the rest of the Portuguese who arrived after them.

There is no story without a beginning, and ours starts with them. It is because of their courage and sacrifice that we were all able to immigrate to Canada and integrate rapidly, regardless of our status in the country and even our origin. As long we spoke and understood Portuguese, we became part of the community.

We owe them our presence here.

Our Pioneers page continues to grow. We have added the stories of two men who arrived in Canada in the 1950s and who have made an impact on our community. Carlos Pereira, born in Peniche, was responsible for purchasing the farm where the first large gathering of Portuguese immigrants occurred in the Toronto Area, in 1963. Agostinho Martins, born in Madeira, was a founder of Casa da Madeira of Toronto and played important roles in other pioneering organizations such as Portuguese United and First Portuguese. Others will soon follow.

We need your help to collect and record our history. If you know the story of someone who arrived in Canada in the 1950s or early 60s, please contact us. On the other hand, if you know someone who arrived later but helped shape a specific community, we would love to know as well.

Let’s write history together!

Photo on main page credited Museums Victoria on Unsplash