Casa da Madeira Community Centre

Founding Date:	May 2, 1963
Address:	1621 Dupont Street Toronto, Ontario M6P 2S8
Telephone:	416-533-2401

ONE OF THE OLDEST AND MOST VIBRANT ORGANIZATIONS IN CANADA

Audio Version:

Since its foundation, Casa da Madeira has become a favourite for both Madeirenses and immigrants from other parts of Portugal. Its imposing headquarters, on Dupont Street, has been the location for many gatherings that include the founding of other community associations as is the case of Associação Migrante de Barcelos Community Centre.  The organization also owns a plot of land in Georgina where it holds many festivities during the summer months, attracting thousands of participants each year.

Many of the pioneers that first immigrated to Canada in the 1950’s and 60’s are from the Archipelago of Madeira. Thus, it is no surprise that Casa da Madeira Community Centre is one of the oldest and most prosperous organizations in the Portuguese community of Ontario. Moreover, the association’s founders included several pioneers who arrived in Halifax on May 13, 1953 as part of the first ever contingent out of Portugal that was composed of 69 men.

It all began with a party held at a farm owned by Carlos da Autoguia, organized in the mid 1950’s. It was the first ever organized gathering in the history of the Portuguese community. This get-together led some of its participants to form the idea of acquiring a property where more events of the like could be held. Mr. Jose Patrocinio seems to have been the biggest proponent of the project. The property that is now Madeira Park was finally purchased in 1963 for a modest price of $4,500. Currently, the property could be worth a few million dollars. 

Casa da Madeira had been formed but its official registration occurred two years later, in 1965. At the time, it took on the name of Canadian Madeira Club but, in 1987, it adopted its current name of Casa da Madeira Community Centre. 

In Toronto, the association’s first headquarters was in the Kensington Market area, in Mr. Angelo Bacalhau’s Barber Shop. Later, it moved to Senhor Santo Cristo’s hall (formerly St. Mary’s Hall) and finally in 1978 it purchased its first property in the city, at 961 College Street, for $83,000, where it remained for 17 years.

In 1995, Casa da Madeira CC settled at its current location.  It was an audacious investment at the time but perfectly viable due to the accumulated wealth of the association and the dedication of its members and friends.  The building cost $450,000 at the time.  It took only 2 years to pay it off.

Beyond the many cultural and social elements the association offers, it also participates in many philanthropic initiatives to help the neediest in the community.  Casa da Madeira provides yearly aid to Aldeia da Paz (an organization that provides help to children in the Archipelago of Madeira), to Children’s Place, and to the Society of Portuguese Disabled Persons, among a few others. 

Casa da Madeira remains strong to this day and enjoys the participation of many non-madeirenses who attend the association’s events. 

With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008

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