Prince George
Community Organizatons: Portuguese Cultural Society of Prince George
PRINCE GEORGE’S POPULATION: 86,622
STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN PRINCE GEORGE:
| AS MOTHER TONGUE | AS MOST SPOKEN | KNOWLEDGE OF THE LANGUAGE | BORN IN PORTUGAL | AS ETHNIC ORIGIN |
| 250 0.3% of population | 70 0.1% of population | 315 0.4% of population | 190 0.2% of population | 880 1% of population |
Audio Version:
The Portuguese who first arrived in Canada in the 1950s did not take long to move west in search of new opportunities. Prince George, in Northern British Columbia was one such community in which the newcomers eventually settled and continued to celebrate and promote their heritage.
Mikeila Oliveira, a Luso-Canadian who was born and resides in Prince George, shared with us a paper that she wrote in 2021 as an undergraduate student at the University of Northern British Columbia about the Portuguese community in Prince George. Here is an excerpt of that academic paper detailing a bit of the history of our presence in the region:
“In Northern B.C., significant areas of Portuguese population are the regional districts of Fraser-Fort George, Kitimat-Stikine, and Bulkley-Nechako. Why did the Portuguese immigrate thousands of kilometers to these rather remote areas of the world under harsh weather conditions in unfamiliar territory? “For a better life.”11 The journey of venturing to Canada was not an easy one, but to escape political oppression, such as the fascist Salazar government, and seek better employment and economic opportunities, it seems to have been worth it.12 Some immigrants boarded ships from their homelands across the Atlantic Ocean to Halifax or they arrived via plane to Toronto or Montreal and then took the train headed west.13 The incentive to move from the east of Canada to the west was motivated by the promises of work and greater opportunity.14 The most common jobs among newcomer men were construction positions, railroad work for BC Rail and CN Rail, or working at the saw or pulp mill. M&M Concrete Finishing was a successful company owned by Joaquim (Jack) Santos and Alvaro Terroso.15 Other early business owners were Carlos Santos who started PG Custom Woodworks and John Gomes’s Superior Woodworks & Modern Countertops.16 Notable mills of employment for these men were Eagle Lake Sawmills, Fort Fraser Sawmill, Fraser Lake Sawmills, and the Prince George Sawmill.17 Within a couple of years of their husband’s arrival in B.C., the first wave of immigrant women typically followed their husband from Portugal to B.C. and worked at restaurants, by providing cleaning services, or were domestic women of the home.18 The services that Portuguese immigrants have provided for the community of Prince George and surrounding area have played a role in the formation of what the city is today. My grandfather, Alvaro Terroso, for example, provided the cement finishing work for various infrastructures around the city. Some of the most influential that come to mind are D.P. Todd Secondary, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the Northern Sports Center. I have spent countless hours at these locations, and they have tremendously shaped my character, but knowing that my grandfather had a part in building them makes it evermore special. As the children and grandchildren of the first wave immigrants became educated in Northern B.C., greater opportunities for employment occurred. The Portuguese did not settle to just make money and not leave their mark. In modern day Prince George, Portuguese employment through ‘first wave jobs’ has persisted, but the community also has ethnically Portuguese teachers, RCMP officers, medical professionals, and engineers, to name a few.”
References noted by the author:
11 Arlette Santos in discussion with the author, April 7, 2021.
12 Lucas F. Bruying and Joseph Theodoor, ed., “Fascist Italy and Salazar’s Portugal,” in Italy – Europe. 3rd ed. (Atlanta: Editions Rodopi B.V., 1990), 102.
13 Katherine Nadalin, People of Prince George, (Burnaby: Planet Press, 2017), 98; Alvaro Terroso in discussion with the author, April 10, 2021.
14 Kathy Nadalin, “From Portugal to Prince George,” The Prince George Citizen, November 25, 2014.
15 Alvaro Terroso, April 10, 2021.
16 Carlos and Betty Santos in discussion with author, April 7, 2021.
17 Katherine Nadalin, People of Prince George, 99.
18 Alvaro Terroso, April 10, 2021. Oliveira 4
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