Bradford
Community Organizations: Portuguese Cultural Centre of Bradford
THE SECOND MOST PORTUGUESE TOWN IN CANADA
BRADFORD’S POPULATION – 42,880
STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN BRADFORD:
| AS MOTHER TONGUE | AS MOST SPOKEN | KNOWLEDGE OF THE LANGUAGE | BORN IN PORTUGAL | ETHNIC ORIGIN |
| 2,145 5% of population | 965 2.2% of population | 2,620 6.1% of population | 1,570 3.7% of population | 4,135 9.7% of population |
Audio Version:
Samuel Holland established the first settlement in Bradford, in 1791, composed of a few wooden homes on the East side of the Holland River. Eight years later, the settlement had grown substantially and, by the war of 1812, the first tavern opened here. The construction of a windmill on the north side of town, and later a road that connected Bradford to Innisfil, attracted even more people here. The Portuguese arrived well into the 20th Century but they quickly established themselves as the most represented ethnic background in the city.
As you enter Bradford from Highway 400, it will take you some time to realize that you are in territory occupied by thousands of Luso-Canadians. You will first find Churrasqueira Costa Verde and, a few hundred metres after, Caldense Bakery. When you enter the downtown stretch, you will finally realize it when you find Tic Tac bar, and the Minho and Ilha Azul restaurants. Further south, near the Holland canal, stands the Portuguese Cultural Centre of Bradford, founded in 1980, an imposing building surrounded by acres of land owned by the organization.
According to the 2021 Census, there are 2,145 residents of Bradford who are fluent in Portuguese, 965 speak it at home, and 2,620 people have some knowledge of Portuguese. Among the Luso-Canadians residing here, there are 1,570 who were born in Portugal and 4,135 consider their background to be Portuguese.
Before the Portuguese, however, the Irish first laid claim to the majority here when they settled in considerable numbers, in 1807, but a group of Scottish arriving from Manitoba settled later, in 1819, forming the largest ethnic group in the locality. They helped build a total of four windmills and inaugurated Auld Kirk, the first church in Bradford. In 1853, Bradford was connected by train at a time in which the population was around one thousand and, four years later, it was officially incorporated as a village.
The years that followed witnessed a steady growth. By the turn of the 20th Century, Bradford had established itself. Sports became a preferred past-time, and the game of Lacrosse in particular. Between 1902 and 1905, Bradford won four consecutive Ontario Lacrosse Championships.
Although sports were important in the residents’ lives, work in the land was even more crucial. The region’s fertile soil, allied with an abundance of water, made the region desirable for farmers. Over the years, the irrigation system was revamped. Today, if you travel through the farms of Bradford, you will come across many branches of the Holland Canal that serve the thousands of acres of arable land.
Bradford was elevated to city in 1960, around the time the first Portuguese started to arrive here. A year later, the first sewer system was installed here, following a second devastating fire that consumed the majority of the current downtown area. In 1991, Bradford joined the locality of West Gwillimbury to form a unified town.
Village Inn, located on the southeastern corner of Barrie and Holland streets, is the oldest business in operation in the locality.
| With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008 |
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