Manitouwadge

MANITOUWADGE’S POPULATION: 1,937

STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN MANITOWADGE:

AS MOTHER
TONGUE		AS MOST
SPOKEN		KNOWLEDGE OF
THE LANGUAGE		BORN IN
PORTUGAL		ETHNIC
ORIGIN
15
0.8% of population		10
0.5% of population		40
2.1% of population		25
1.3% of population		50
2.6% of population
Source: Statistics Canada

PORTUGUESE PRESENCE IN A COMMUNITY NESTLED IN THE WOODS

By Paulo Pereira for Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008

Audio Version:

It was in Thunder Bay that we learned about an old mining town called Manitouwadge. Here, we were told, lived a few dozen Portuguese who decided to stay after the mines closed. We looked at the map and noticed that the town was lost in the middle of the forest, about 60 kilometres north of Hwy 17. We were somewhat curious but mainly excited to travel there.  So, on our way from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie, we took a hard left onto a desolate road flanked by trees and occupied by nothing but nature.

Sign on Hwy 17 at the forks of the road that leads to Manitouwadge

It was 8:30 in the morning when we reached the top of a hill on the road and came across the quiet town of Manitouwadge. A tourist centre welcomed us. We stopped for information… but it was closed. On the other side of the parking lot, we saw a bakery but we elected to drive around town in an attempt to find a landmark that proved that Portuguese lived there. We needed to be convinced. 

We didn’t find anything.   

We decided to go back to the bakery. We went in to approach the lady behind the counter, hoping she could help, but we found a long line of people in front of us. As the line grew behind us and did not move ahead, we decided to question a young woman, who waited patiently just like us, if there were Portuguese living there. “That lady is Portuguese,” she pointed to a table at the back of the room. We thanked her and rushed to interrupt the conversation this lady was having with a friend. 

“Hi. I’m sorry. Are you Portuguese?” We asked.

“I am!” She answered, somewhat surprised.

Sweet joy. 

Welcoming, she invited us to pull up a chair while we explained our purpose. Maria Botelho was her name. 

When the conversation began to pick up pace, our newest friend pointed to a gentleman who had just entered the establishment.

“That gentleman is also Portuguese,” she announced. It was Mr. João Benevides. Minutes later, Mr. José Botelho – Maria’s husband – also joined us and we had quickly formed a group of Portuguese in a faraway town in the middle of nowhere. It was glorious.   

From left to right: José Botelho, Maria Botelho, João Benevides

Between short gulps of coffee, we learned about the Portuguese community in this town. “In the 1970s we had maybe 30 Portuguese families working in a copper mine. Today we have about 50 Portuguese living here”, José Botelho began and then João Benevides also interjected: “The Portuguese used to gather in the café but today they no longer get together as much.”

The city never had an organized Portuguese association, nor has it enjoyed the marvels of a folklore group or a football team. 

In such a small space, assimilation into the Canadian culture did not take long. However, Maria Botelho is a Portuguese-Canadian who loves Manitouwadge, but who keeps informed about what is happening in Portugal through the internet. “We also have RTPi here,” she said. João Benevides – the oldest of the trio of interviewees – also stays connected to Portugal through television but confesses that his country is now Canada. “We lived here for so long that we got used to it. Our home is now here and this is where many, like me, will retire,” he confessed. 

A Portuguese flag on a window provides a hint of our presence here

Isolation is a fact that has already been surpassed by the elders while the younger ones continue to prefer to settle in larger cities, such as Thunder Bay, Ottawa, and Toronto. However, second and third-generation Luso-Canadians continue to celebrate their parents’ heritage. “During the World Cup, people put up the Portuguese flag and the younger ones are proud to be Portuguese. They understand but don’t speak much Portuguese”, José Botelho lamented.

After a long and satisfying conversation, Maria Botelho and João Benevides offered us a guided tour of the town. Along the way, we met a few of the other Portuguese who lived there. 

It was then time to say goodbye. José Botelho left towards the golf course for a game with some friends; we went back out on the road gleaming about the magnificent discovery we had made.

Update: In a telephone conversation on January 20, 2022, José Botelho told us that he is now retired but that he continues to play golf, his favourite pastime. Along with his wife Maria, they continue to live in Manitowadge but they have witnessed the community dwindle to a couple of families: the Botelhos, the Gaspares, and the Aguiares. The youth have moved to bigger cities and it’s only a matter of time until our Portuguese presence in this town harboured by nature disappears completely. Due to health reasons, João Benevides, our other interviewee from 2007, now resides in Sudbury.

With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008
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