Sarnia

Community Organizations: Portuguese Club of Sarnia

SARNIA’S POPULATION: 71,594

STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN SARNIA:

AS MOTHER
TONGUE		AS MOST
SPOKEN		KNOWLEDGE OF
THE LANGUAGE		BORN IN
PORTUGAL		ETHNIC
ORIGIN
395
0.5% of population		160
0.2% of population		415
0.6% of population		250
0.3% of population		1,045
1.5% of population
Source: Statistics Canada

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Initially named ‘The Rapids’, the village took on the name of ‘Port Sarnia’ in 1835 after Sir John Colborne visited for the first time and discovered that the population was not keen on the original name. A vote of 26 to 16 approved the new name when the locality was composed of 44 taxpayers, fifteen homes, two taverns and two stores. In 1857, it finally changed its name to ‘Sarnia’ but only officially incorporated in 1914. Recently, in 1991, Clearwater joined the city to form a single municipality.

In the 1850s, the first oil well in North America was dug in the Sarnia region, turning the city into a major industrial centre. The Great Western Railway arrived there in 1858 and, a year later, so did the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1889, both railways connected to the United States through a tunnel dug under St. Clair River but only in 1938 the Bluewater Bridge was built to allow vehicles and pedestrians to cross the border. The town saw a further boom in its industrial realm after the rubber giant Polymer Corporation built a plant here. Many of the oil-based synthetic products used in WWII were fabricated here.

Sarnia’s skyline (photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sarnia_skyline.JPG)

Currently, Sarnia continues to thrive on the oil industry but the discovery, in recent times, of salt deposits in the region has significantly boosted the local economy and accentuated the city’s nickname of “Chemical Valley.”

The Portuguese were naturally drawn here to either work directly in the oil-based industry or in construction. The growth was, however, slow but by the 1970s a sizeable population had already established here. People began to gather at each other’s homes and, in 1979, the first official event was held – the Feast of Saint Anthony. In 1980, Clube Português de Sarnia was formed. Over the years, it has experienced some ups and some downs, but it has endured the challenges.

The Portuguese community in Sarnia is slowly aging while the new generation of Luso-Canadians does not seem as engaged in our heritage as their ancestors. The next few years will prove crucial for the maintenance of the local Portuguese Club.

With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008
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