Gatineau

Community Organizations: Centro Comunitário Português Amigos Unidos

POPULATION OF GATINEAU: 276,245

STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN GATINEAU:

AS MOTHER TONGUE	AS MOST SPOKEN	KNOWLEDGE OF THE LANGUAGE	BORN IN PORTUGAL	ETHNIC ORIGIN
2,555 1% of population	1,140 0.4% of population	3,365 1.2% of population	1,360 0.5% of population	4,500 1.7% of population

Audio Version:

Gatineau gets its name after the waterway that traverses the locality and washes into the Ottawa River. Nicolas Gatineau, a fur trader who allegedly drowned in the river in 1683, left his name as legacy. The city stands on the northern shore of the Ottawa river, in Quebec, overlooking Canada’s Capital and the imposing Parliament on the hill.

Originally part of the region of Templeton West, it was named village in 1933, then received the distinction of town in 1946 and, finally, was elevated to city in 1975. In 2002, it amalgamated with Aylmer, Hull, Masson-Angers, and Buckingham but kept its name.

Logging, a major industry in the area since the arrival of Europeans, continues to be the largest employer in the region, now enlarged by all related industries such as building materials deriving from lumber. It also boasts a healthy electronics industry and a significant service sector.

With a population of nearly 300,000, Gatineau became, during the heyday of immigration from Portugal, home to a few thousand Luso-Canadians. The 2016 Census reports that there are 4,500 residents in the city who consider Portuguese their heritage, of whom 1,360 were born in Portugal and 1,140 speak it most often at home.

Although not a large population when compared to other cities around the country, the Portuguese community of Gatineau is a true example of commitment to its heritage and to the marvels of unity. In the late 1960s it already boasted a soccer team that competed in the Ottawa region’s top division. Later, a marching band was also formed, giving rise to the desire to create a centre where all the Portuguese in the area could gather to celebrate the motherland.

The objective was accomplished in 1975 when Centro Comunitário Português Amigos Unidos was founded. However, it was not without tremendous commitment, unity and dedication to a mutual cause that saw the whole community gather around. About a dozen men took over the acquisition of the land and the construction of the building. Among those, a few remortgaged their homes in order to meet the financial needs of the enterprise. It was daring, but rewarding.

Amigos Unidos welcomed the soccer team and the filarmónica into the organization and quickly became a cultural, social and religious centre for all the Portuguese who resided here. The community centre continues to support young and old with various services, the church holds regular masses in Portuguese, a library was created, as was a folk-dance group, a musical group, theatre productions and even television programs.   

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