Why Portuguese people Immigrated to Canada
Britanie
December 15,2017
The Canadian-Portuguese community is an important part of Canada's multicultural
society. In the Portuguese culture and community in Winnipeg and my own family, there have
been many examples of how Winnipeg has changed due to our community and also how the
Portuguese community has changed because of Winnipeg.
The traditional aspects of Portuguese culture are what helped build the
Canadian-Portuguese community. There are two main languages. The first is Azorean, which is
from the Islands around Portugal, and commonly spoken with a lisp. The second is Portuguese,
which is the most common spoken language in Portugal. Both of these languages can be heard in
the Portuguese communities in Canada. How did Winnipeg change Portuguese language?
A Canadian-Portuguese tradition is soccer. This is the most popular sport in Portugal and
people are crazy for it. In Portugal you can see kids playing on the road or in the school yard
playing soccer. Between 1940 and 1970 there was a huge increase in Portuguese immigrants in
Canada (CanEncyPortuguese). Around the same time Canada´s soccer program was taken more
seriously and became more popular in the country. The growth in the Portuguese community had
some effect on this. (CanEncySoccer).
Another tradition Portuguese people have is that they do not celebrate Halloween.
Instead, they celebrate All Saints Day and they honour that by cleaning graves of family
members and putting fresh flowers down. Finally they bake goods and settle down with wine as
the kids go door to door singing to the residents. Still being able to celebrate these traditions
while not not being in Portugal brings the Portuguese community together and has helped shape
the Portuguese community in Canada. Portuguese people immigrated to Winnipeg in the early
60s and 70s, they settled around Sargent avenue. They were only able to find jobs in construction
or textiles to survive and provide for their families. This is what my mom's parents did, they
came all the way from Portugal to Winnipeg because they were not making enough money to
support their family. My grandma was working in a factory since she was 10 years old so she
had a lot of memories back home.She did not want to move to Canada, she wanted to stay in
Portu...
