Pioneers: The Extraordinary Story of António Rodrigues

António Pereira Rodrigues was born on July 25, 1925, in the village of Ázere, Arcos de Valdevez. As a member of the Portuguese Navy, he saw the world. To escape Salazar’s regime, he chose Canada as his permanent home. In 1956, less than a year after his arrival, he brought the union to his workplace…and he barely spoke any English. By choice, his name does not appear in the official documents, but he was a founder of the two oldest community organizations in Ontario. Against the will of the Portuguese Consulate, he became a resident of Canada. In the years that followed, he helped dozens of other Portuguese immigrate to Canada. Over his long life, he was able to build a small empire. This is the story of a formidable man who fought all odds to succeed in Canada. It is being told for the first time and recorded for perpetuity.

It was Paulo Pereira, the former President of Associação Cultural do Minho de Toronto (ACMT), who initially told me bits and pieces of António Rodrigues’ extraordinary life. It was also with Paulo Pereira in the passenger seat that, on April 5, 2024, I fought Toronto’s rush hour traffic, from the west end to Scarborough, to meet the 98-year-old pioneer.

When we arrived, a light snowfall began to paint the ground white. The door opened to the sounds of António and his wife, Joaquina, inviting us in from the cold. We retreated to the living room where they were watching television, but once the conversation began, António led us to his office where we marveled at a collection of pictures and documents that deserve to be displayed in a museum. Then, he began telling us his story with a mind as bright as the young man he once was, bringing all those relics back to life.

“In Portugal, I was in the merchant navy. I had done well there, and I was trying to advance in life. On the ships, I also learned about medicine from Corporal Aurélio, who was a nurse working for the Army’s National Health Service. It was a hard life. I was in the Portuguese Navy for many years and I traveled to many places. Look, I traveled to Brazil, Argentina, Hong Kong…I sailed the Red Sea and the Suez Canal…I can’t remember them all, there are so many places”, António Rodrigues recollected without faltering.

After serving in the Portuguese Navy, António decided to find work with a private firm, where he could earn more money. However, little did he know that the decision would be the prelude to immigrating to Canada, as he recalled: “I found work in a boat owned by a Jewish man, from Boston. I boarded in the Netherlands, but I worked on the North American Atlantic coast. We traveled a lot to the Dominican Republic to load metal that we shipped to Philadelphia. We also came to Canada many times to load material to make sheetrock. I decided to stay in Canada. I came to Canada because I wanted to escape the fascist regime [of Salazar]. I had decided that it was between Canada and Australia. I disembarked in Halifax on March 12, 1956. I left the boat. I wasn’t running away. I had 50 Canadian dollars on me. In those days, the Canadian dollar was stronger than the American. I went to the train station and purchased a ticket to Montreal and another to Toronto. I arrived at Union Station, in Toronto, and I began wandering through the streets. I spoke a bit of English. I rented a room for $4 a week. I would spend ten cents to go to work, in Scarborough. It was hard. I was a bit scared because I didn’t have any documentation, I had nothing. I had nothing. I had to be careful. When I got here, I had a stomach ulcer. I met Dr. Cesar Cordeiro and I told him that I had had it for many years, that I had to sleep on a rock for it not to hurt. He cured me. I am cured, I am cured and I never had any more problems. I am 98 years old, I am close to turning 99.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE FROM THE START

Upon his arrival in Toronto, António Rodrigues visited the Portuguese Consulate to request documentation that would allow him to work in Canada. Against his initial expectations, he was met with resistance. However, he refused to take ‘no’ for an answer, as he explained: “I visited the Portuguese Consulate, in Toronto, to ask the Consul General to help me, I had no documentation. I asked if he could give me a passport. He replied that he would get me a passport to return to Portugal. He refused to help me. Then, I went to Immigration to complain about him. Immigration felt sorry for me, and they legalized me. Immigration was fantastic. I have a lot of respect for Canada’s Immigration [Department].”

Once he acquired proper documentation, António began to work at Maple Leaf Plastics. Upon receiving his first paycheck, he realized that the salary was minimal and soon learned that his colleagues were also poorly paid. He decided to take matters into his own hands, this within a year of arriving in Canada and with very limited English. “I first worked in a plastics factory. It was my first job. I made 80 cents an hour. I went to Spadina, on the third floor, to speak with someone at the Plastics Union. I said, look, I work in a plastics factory and I want to bring the union in. They accepted me on the spot. I brought the union in. I have a letter here. It was a great victory. I have the paper here. I think the factory no longer exists. At some point, I asked the factory supervisors to grant me a leave of absence. I went to Delhi to work in the tobacco fields so I could save some money”, he recalled.

Although António Rodrigues did not make a decent salary at Maple Leaf Plastics, he needed the job so he could meet immigration’s requirements. When his wife, Joaquina Rodrigues, arrived in Canada in 1960, he got her a job at the factory. However, António was soon able to find another job and Joaquina left to work as a cleaning lady. At Maple Leaf Plastics, “I was lucky if I was able to save $20”, he recalled. 

IT TAKES TWO

Joaquina Rodrigues was born on August 25, 1936, in the same village as António’s. She grew up far from António, first because of the age difference of 11 years, and later, as she became a young girl, he was sailing across the world. However, destiny was to unite them even if the distance made it unlikely. “In those days, I had a car, and I drove back to my village to bring home a few young men who were from Monção. I already knew of her. I knew that there was a beautiful girl in my village. She was very beautiful. But I didn’t know we would end up dating. I got to know her through a friend who has passed. It turned out to be good because she is a hard worker. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be where I am today. We have a good life”, António Rodrigues said.

After acquiring status in Canada, Rodrigues traveled to Portugal to marry Joaquina. While there, she became pregnant with their first child, but António would return to Canada. In 1960, they were reunited and began a life together in their adopted country.

“After I arrived, I began working at the plastics factory, making plates. I loved working there, but my husband asked me to leave. After I left, I started cleaning houses and I worked harder than I did at the factory”, Joaquina lamented.

In the 1980s, Joaquina joined Associação Cultural do Minho de Toronto, first as a helper in the kitchen and then as a singer and dancer in the folk-dance group. António Rodrigues, although not directly involved, always supported her. “It was good for her. She needed something like that to stay busy and distracted”, he recognized.

Together, they had two children. At the time of our interview, they had five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

AN ANONYMOUS FOUNDER

Although his name does not appear in the official documents, António Rodrigues was one of the founders of two of the oldest community organizations in Canada. In 1956, he helped form First Portuguese Canadian Club, the oldest association in Ontario and second in Canada. Two years later, he was also one of the founders of Associação Democrática, an organization created to counter Salazar’s regime.

“I helped found First Portuguese. I am one of the founders. Then, along with some friends, I helped form Associação Democrática because fascism was horrible in Portugal. We had to fight for democracy. We opened First Portuguese on College Street, near Spadina, on the second or third floor, I can’t recall exactly. Fernando Marto was the one who paid the first month’s rent. He was a chef at the golf club. He had more money that the rest of us. I was always a member of both organizations but I never wanted to be part of the board. I preferred to remain in the background, but I was always involved. I left First Portuguese when it moved to Nassau [Street]. Later, it moved to College, they bought a building. The NDP gave more than one million dollars at the time, but they destroyed everything. To lead an organization, you need responsibility and good work ethic. First Portuguese still exists, but it could have a bigger building. I was sad to see it crumbling because it was an association I helped found. I haven’t gone there in a long time”, António Rodrigues confessed.

At Associação Democrática, António was also instrumental behind the scenes. The highlight of his involvement occurred when former President and Prime Minister of Portugal, Mário Soares, visited Toronto to participate in one of the organization’s events. “The first time he visited Associação Democrática, I was the one who picked him up at the airport. I was the one who drove him around”, he stated, proudly.

Associação Democrática folded in 2007 after 49 years of fighting for democracy in Portugal.

The Portuguese community in Toronto was in its early stages of evolution when António Rodrigues arrived, in 1956. Institutional support for newcomers was practically non-existent in those days. They relied on the knowledge and direction of the ones who had come earlier. Commerce was also sparse, and people missed the flavours of Portugal. The foundation of First Portuguese Canadian Club began a movement that stretched to many other facets of social and professional life.  Eventually, Portuguese commercial establishments sprung, although thinly, in the Kensington Market area, the neighbourhood where the community first settled.

“When I arrived, I found a lot of fascists. Many people supported Salazar. Then, I met a man who had a more evolved mentality. António Sousa was his name. He founded the Nazaré Club. His son became a Minister (Charles Sousa). He also opened the first restaurant (Sousa’s). The community was united. It was united because there weren’t many of us in those days and people got together”, Rodrigues stated.

GOOD WILL AND A SMALL EMPIRE

After arriving in Canada, António Rodrigues spent many of his days helping others. He started with his colleagues at Maple Leaf Plastics where he played a crucial role in bringing the union to the workplace. Then, after sponsoring his immediate family, he helped dozens of others come from Portugal to Canada. Through the family reunification program, he also helped his parents-in-law settle in Toronto.

“I bought them a house, paid for it. I helped many people come to Canada. They are well here”, he offered.

Rodrigues worked at Pilkington Glass until he suffered an injury at work. He was just over 60 years of age. He has been retired since then.

“I operated a machine that made glass. It was hard work. I did what I could. The company was good to me and they still send a calendar every year and invite me their annual picnic, but I haven’t gone in a while. Pilkington always looked after its workers. I have a good pension. I have no problems with money”, he said.

Over the years, António Rodrigues and his wife invested in several properties both in Canada and in Portugal. Together, they built a small empire that they hope will help their grandchildren in the future.

When asked if, after all these years in Canada, he still feels Portuguese, he replied that it was difficult to explain: “I am international, do you understand? Canada welcomed me and Immigration was fantastic to me. They did me a favour and I owe them a lot. The Portuguese Consulate wanted to send me back. What am I now? I am nothing. Soon, I will be dead. Canada was great to me. In Portugal, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to make it. Here, I accomplished a lot. I want to leave something to my grandchildren.”

PERHAPS A GOODBYE

We left well into the evening, but not before sitting down at the kitchen table for coffee and cake. António and Joaquina Rodrigues continued to tell stories of yesteryear, memories that represent a life of sacrifice, dedication and conviction. After long moments of clarity, António often embarked on stints of frailty by talking about politics that are no longer relevant, but he quickly returned to the topic. Joaquina opted mostly for silence.

At the time of publishing the piece, my companion in this venture, Paulo Pereira, advised me that António Rodrigues’ health had deteriorated. He is to turn 99 years old on July 25, 2024.