Portuguese Immigration to Canada

In 1953, the first significant wave of Portuguese immigrants arrived in the Port of Halifax aboard the Saturnia.[1] In the 1950s, the Canadian Government promoted immigration primarily to fulfill the shortage of farm labourers in the agricultural sector and construction workers on the railway.[2] Low standards of living and limited economic opportunities were the primary reasons for Portuguese immigrants to leave Portugal.[3] Furthermore, Canada’s reputation, lenient immigration policies, and lifestyle provided key attractions for the Portuguese to specifically immigrate to Canada.[4] Significantly, many Portuguese immigrants came to Canada because they had relatives or friends living in the country to assist them in finding employment.[5] In addition to relatives or friends, Portuguese immigrants relied on immigration offices abroad and employment services in Canada to obtain work.[6] Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Portuguese immigration increased because of family sponsorship and reunification.[7] From the mid-1970s onward, Portuguese immigration decreased because the Canadian Government implemented the constraining points system, and it became economically more attractive to stay within the “European community.”[8] From early 1950s to the present, between sixty to seventy percent of the Portuguese who immigrated to Canada arrived from the Azores region, particularly from the island of São Miguel.[9]