Leamington

Community Organizations:

Portuguese Community of Leamington – Rancho Folclórico Nazareno de Leamington

LEAMINGTON’S POPULATION – 27,595

STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN LEAMINGTON:

AS MOTHER
TONGUE		AS MOST
SPOKEN		KNOWLEDGE OF
THE LANGUAGE		BORN IN
PORTUGAL		ETHNIC
ORIGIN
1,250
4.5% of population		590
2.1% of population		1,595
5.8% of population		1,010
3.7% of population		2,530
9.2% of population

Audio Version:

Canada’s tomato capital is also home to one of the largest Portuguese community halls in the country. Located just west of the downtown area, the building is owned by the local Portuguese club – Portuguese Community of Leamington – but also serves to celebrate many other cultural and social events.

According to the 2016 Canadian Census, there are 1,250 residents of Leamington who consider Portuguese their mother tongue, 590 who speak it most often at home and 1,595 who can communicate in the language. In total, there are 1,010 residents who were born in Portugal and 2,530 who consider Portuguese their ethnic origin, representing an astounding 9.2% of the total local population.

Leamington is the tomato capital of Canada (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomatoes_being_transported_in_Leamington,_Ontario.jpg)

The oldest community organization is the Portuguese Community of Leamington, founded in 1984. However, the movement had begun 5 years earlier at the home of Nelson Medeiros. Over the years, the organization was extremely dynamic, offering folklore dances, Portuguese classes, soccer, and many other activities. However, all these groups ceased operation. The only that remains is the instrumental band.

In 1999, Leamington’s Rancho Folclórico da Nazaré was founded, reviving folk singing and dancing in the community. Although the organization is independent from the Portuguese Community of Leamington, it holds most of its events at the association’s hall.

Many of the Luso-Canadian who reside in Leamington are part of a vibrant agricultural industry that includes manufacturing of food products.

With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008
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