Population of Thompson: 13,035

STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN THOMPSON:

AS MOTHER TONGUE	AS MOST SPOKEN	KNOWLEDGE OF THE LANGUAGE	BORN IN PORTUGAL	ETHNIC ORIGIN
80 0.6% of population	25 0.2% of population	145 1.1% of population	85 0.6% of population	240 1.8% of population

PASSION IS THE STRENGTH OF A DWINDLING PORTUGUESE COMMUNITY

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Situated along the Burntwood River, Thompson is the largest city in Northern Manitoba, providing healthcare and retail services for the surrounding communities. The “Hub of the North”, as it has been dubbed, was formed in 1956 when Inco Limited began mining nickel in the region. As a result, a few of our Portuguese pioneers in Canada made their way to the locality to work in the mine and the supporting industries that it created. Many of them have left for other cities but others, like Rui Lima, remain as the representatives of a Portuguese community that is continually dwindling. 

“It’s hard to be Portuguese here because we don’t have many of us left.  Currently, I don’t even think we have fifty Portuguese people living here,” Rui started by telling us during a conversation via Zoom in 2021.

In its heyday, the community boasted around 400 Luso-Canadians.  It was at this time that Rui’s father, Joaquim Lima, arrived in Thompson, in 1968, and was then joined by his wife, Alice Lima, two years later. Joaquim first worked with concrete, building homes for the workers of Inco Limited, but in 1971 he started a part-time gig cleaning the city’s Bank of Montreal. Soon, cleaning not only turned into his winter job but also into his first venture as a business owner.   

“There was a hall where the Portuguese gathered, the Steel Centre. On Saturdays and Sundays, they would get together to play cards and pass the time.  There was no (Portuguese) radio or television in those days, but later we started listening to Asas do Atlantico. People spoke Portuguese in the streets and many of them never learned English,” Rui recalled.

The community, formed mainly by people from the mainland and a few Azoreans, never witnessed the formation of a Portuguese club.  For some time, there was a supermarket called Southwood Groceries that sold goods from Portugal, but there the variety was scarce. Recently, after the turn of the millennium, Zé’s Café opened in town but it soon succumbed due to the disinterest of the population.

Joaquim Lima, Rui’s father, was a distinguished leader of the local Portuguese community.  He founded the Portuguese School that had Fernanda Magalhães as the teacher.  He also implemented the festivities of our Lady of Fatima, on May 13^th of each year, held at the St. Lawrence Roman Catholic Church. Joaquim was also instrumental in Rui’s commitment to his heritage by speaking only Portuguese at home. “Most of my friends were Portuguese and no Canadians ever attended my birthday parties,” Rui recounted.   

Furthermore, Joaquim instilled in Rui a sense of entrepreneurship and the desire to work independently by becoming a business owner.  In 1991, Rui took over Lima Janitorial, a cleaning company founded by his father that has grown exponentially over the years. “It was difficult because there was a lot of competition at that time, but in just five years we attained financial sustainability,” Rui said.  However, the past 15 years have been the most challenging because growth also means more responsibility. “We got contracts in locations that are very competitive, but we have great employees.  I am very proud of all of them.  The employees make us who we are,” Rui confessed.

Lima Janitorial operates throughout Manitoba. Thompson and Winnipeg are its largest markets. However, Rui’s transition to business ownership was a process of accumulated experience, patience, and perseverance.  From the tender age of 15, he worked as a lifeguard, and also as a swimming and first aid instructor for nine years. Then, he became an educational assistant and substitute teacher, worked for the Government of Manitoba and Thompson’s City Hall, and was store manager at the local Walmart before the retail giant offered him his own store in Dauphin, Manitoba. Above all, he has counted on the full support and collaboration of Elizabete, who has not only been a life companion but the ideal business partner. 

Although Rui Lima was born in Canada, he continues to celebrate his heritage not only by speaking Portuguese at home with Elizabete but also by participating in many events promoted by community organizations in the Province of Manitoba. He is often seen attending dinners and other functions with his family at the various Portuguese organizations in Winnipeg, a city that is a long eight-hour drive from Thompson. He has also been a sponsor of many of these events. 

Although Thompson has witnessed the dwindling of its Portuguese community, the Lima family and the other remaining few are holding strong. The northern city may no longer hear Portuguese spoken in its streets, but our heritage continues to be celebrated in isolated residences throughout the region. Here, strength in numbers is substituted by passion and commitment.

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