Chatham

Community Organizations: Portuguese Canadian Social Club of Chatham

CHATHAM-KENT’S POPULATION – 104,316

STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN CHATHAM-KENT:

AS MOTHER
TONGUE		AS MOST
SPOKEN		KNOWLEDGE OF
THE LANGUAGE		BORN IN
PORTUGAL		ETHNIC
ORIGIN
610
0.6% of population		245
0.2% of population		705
0.7% of population		450
0.4% of population		1,305
1.2% of population
Source: Statistics Canada

A RELATIVELY SMALL COMMUNITY WITH BIG PASSION

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Chatham was founded after a Port was established here, on the margins of the Thames River, in 1790. During the 19th Century, the city was crucial to the Underground Railroad, an operation that helped blacks escape slavery from the United States. In 1998, Kent joined Chatham to form a single municipality that is now known as Chatham-Kent. Here, the Portuguese presence is visible in some local businesses but mainly through the centrally located Portuguese Club.

According to the 2021 Census, 610 people in Chatham-Kent consider Portuguese their mother tongue, 245 speak it most often at home and 705 can communicate in the language. In total, there are 450 residents here who were born in Portugal and 1,305 who consider Portugal their ethnic origin.

Chatham over the Thames River (photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chatham_ON_1.JPG)

The local Portuguese Canadian Social Club of Chatham was founded in 1977 and, over the years, has facilitated the maintenance and promotion of our culture and traditions through various activities and groups formed within the organization. It also houses a renowned rancho, sports teams, and religious groups.

The local economy is based on agriculture and the auto industry, but in the past few years other companies have established shop here, such as Commercial Alcohols (producer of ethanol), Union Gas, Navistar International Corporation (truck manufacturing), Pioneer Hi-Breed Limited (agricultural products), Inergy Automotive Systems (plastics) and RM Auctions (the world’s largest classic car auction company).

Chatham-Kent includes the localities of Chatham, Wallaceburg, Blenheim, Tillbury, Ridgetown, Wheatly and Thamesville.

With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008
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