London

Community Organizations:

Portuguese Club of London – Núcleo Sporting London – Núcleo FC Porto London – Sport London e Benfica

LONDON’S POPULATION: 404,699

STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN LONDON:

AS MOTHER
TONGUE		AS MOST
SPOKEN		KNOWLEDGE OF
THE LANGUAGE		BORN IN
PORTUGAL		ETHNIC
ORIGIN
5,975
1.5% of population		2,300
0.6% of population		7,765
1.9% of population		4,585
1.1% of population		13,540
3.3% of population
Source: Statistics Canada

Audio Version:

Located on the shores of the River Thames, Ontario’s English counterpart has a long and rich history that includes major milestones such as the discovery of insulin by Frederick Banting and the birth of Jack Warner, co-founder of Warner Studios. It also boasts one of the most vibrant Portuguese communities in Canada, although the number of Luso-Canadians who reside here is not as significant as many other cities across the country.

The Portuguese community in London began to form in the late 1950’s. By the early 1960’s it had grown to a few dozen and, by the end of the decade, it boasted a large enough presence to inaugurate the first community organization. On February 4, 1968, the Portuguese Club of London was founded and in August of 1974 the association witnessed the start of the construction of its current headquarters.

Over the years, the Portuguese Club – O Clube, as it is called by the locals – attained status of the home of the Portuguese in London and surrounding area. It formed children and adult ranchos, an extremely successful soccer club that once was Ontario Champion, a golf association, an instrumental band, a youth group and a few religious groups. It also hosted events from other local organizations and witnessed memorable social celebrations from many community members. O Clube is dearly loved and cherished by the local Portuguese community.

A view of the city over the Thames (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:London_Ontario_(32562021787).jpg)

It took a couple of decades for other groups to be formed in the community. The first to succeed the Portuguese Club was Núcleo Sporting London, in 1992. Sport London e Benfica followed in 1993 and, a year later, Núcleo do Futebol do Porto London – Ontário – Canadá was founded.

Sporting London is still in operation, although it currently serves mainly as a social club for its members and supporters of the Portuguese soccer giant. Futebol Clube do Porto of London continues to operate on a restricted level by holding sporadic meetings with its members. Sport London Benfica enjoyed tremendous success both on and off the field but, around the year 2010, it closed its famous location by the train tracks with the promise to reopen. However, it was never revived again.

According to the 2016 Canadian Census, there are 5,975 residents of London who consider Portuguese their mother tongue, 2,300 who speak it most often at home and 7,765 who can communicate in the language. In total, there are 4,585 residents who were born in Portugal and 13,540 who consider Portuguese their ethnic heritage, representing 3.3% of the overall local population.

With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008
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