The first Portuguese families in Toronto arrived in 1953, and by 1974 about 85,000 people of Portuguese descent lived in the city, according to Domingos Marques and João Medeiros, whose 1980 book and 1984 article document the community’s first 25 years. The community began around Kensington Market and Alexandra Park, spread west along Dundas Street, and gave the area now called Little Portugal its name.
The story below follows the community from the first arrivals to its institutions. Population statements come from the sources named and are dated, and census figures after the 1970s are not repeated here. For the neighborhood where the community first settled, see the page on Kensington Market.
The first families, 1953 to 1962
Marques and Medeiros, in a Polyphony article for the Multicultural History Society of Ontario, date the first Portuguese families in Toronto to 1953. A group from Madeira arrived in June of that year. The Portuguese Consulate began official operations on August 1, 1956, and St. Mary’s became the Portuguese parish. The Portuguese Canadian Democratic Association formed in 1959. Census returns in 1962 counted about 10,000 Portuguese, according to the article.
Their account emphasizes Madeira and the Azores. Madeiran immigrants organized early festivals, priests came from the Azores, and the Santo Cristo festival is of Azorean origin. The article does not say which island group supplied the largest number of immigrants. Some young men, it adds, came to avoid military service in the African colonial war.
Work
Newcomers often lacked English and struggled to find work at first. Industrial growth in Toronto in the 1960s and 1970s drew many of them, the authors write, and the parish centre is reported to have helped clients find more than 2,000 jobs. The broader pull of the postwar economy, including construction and factory work, is described on the page about postwar immigration to Toronto.
From Kensington to Dundas Street West
Early settlers clustered around Kensington Market and Alexandra Park, where houses were relatively inexpensive, according to Marques and Medeiros. Portuguese families began settling in Alexandra Park in 1964. From the 1960s the community spread west toward Ossington and south from College Street toward King Street.
The Portuguese Canadian History Project, which runs walking tours and an exhibition, describes the first settlers as arriving in Kensington Market in the 1950s and the community moving west along Dundas Street West in the 1970s and 1980s into what is now called Little Portugal. The two descriptions match in direction, although the authors of the 1984 article place the westward spread somewhat earlier.
Churches, clubs, and newspapers
Marques and Medeiros list the community’s institutions. Social services began at St. Christopher House. Sousa’s Restaurant was an early gathering place. The churches were St. Mary’s, St. Elizabeth’s, and St. Patrick’s parishes, and a Parish Centre, interpreter services, and a Centre of Culture and Education were established. Clubs included the First Portuguese Canadian Club, the Clube da Madeira, Club Recreativo da Nazaré, and Casa Benfica de Toronto, and the West End YMCA had a Portuguese department. The first socio-religious festival in 1966 drew about 10,000 people.
Portuguese-language newspapers appeared quickly: Correio Português in 1962, O Jornal Português in 1968, and O Novo Mundo in 1970, which closed in 1973 for lack of support.
Timeline of Portuguese Toronto
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1953 | First Portuguese families in Toronto; Madeiran group arrives in June |
| August 1, 1956 | Portuguese Consulate begins official operations; St. Mary’s becomes the Portuguese parish |
| 1959 | Portuguese Canadian Democratic Association formed |
| 1962 | About 10,000 Portuguese in census returns; Correio Português begins |
| 1964 | Settlement in Alexandra Park begins |
| 1966 | First socio-religious festival, about 10,000 attendees |
| 1968 and 1970 | O Jornal Português and O Novo Mundo founded |
| 1974 | About 85,000 people of Portuguese descent in Toronto |
What the sources leave open
The Marques and Medeiros article dates from 1980 and 1984, so it says nothing about later decades. The Toronto Transforms maps, which summarize Toronto Star census data, note only that Portuguese immigration was small in the 1960s and that it declined in the 1980s. Accounts of later changes in Little Portugal, including who lives there now, are not covered by the sources read for this page. Readers wanting current population figures should use the Statistics Canada census profile through the census finder.
When did Portuguese immigrants first come to Toronto?
The first Portuguese families were in Toronto in 1953, according to Marques and Medeiros, with a Madeiran group arriving in June of that year.
Where is Little Portugal?
The Portuguese Canadian History Project places it along Dundas Street West, where the community settled in the 1970s and 1980s after beginning in Kensington Market.
How large was the Portuguese community in the 1970s?
About 85,000 people of Portuguese descent lived in Toronto in 1974, in the authors’ estimate. They called it one of the largest Portuguese immigrant communities in the world.
Did all Portuguese immigrants come from the Azores?
No. The authors stress both Madeira and the Azores, and do not say which supplied the most.
Related reading
- An overview of Toronto’s history
- Kensington Market: history
- Immigration and communities in Toronto’s history
- Little Italy on College Street
- Toronto neighbourhoods
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Domingos Marques and João Medeiros, “Portuguese Immigrants in Toronto,” Polyphony, Summer 1984, pp. 154-158, Multicultural History Society of Ontario (excerpted from Portuguese Immigrants: 25 Years in Canada, Marquis Printers, 1980)
- Portuguese Canadian History Project: walking tour and exhibition notice, May 5, 2016
- Edward Relph, Toronto Transforms: maps of sources of immigration to the Toronto region
- Statistics Canada: census profiles (for current counts; not reproduced here)
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Portuguese Toronto: From Kensington Market to Little Portugal. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/portuguese-toronto-history
MLA: “Portuguese Toronto: From Kensington Market to Little Portugal.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/portuguese-toronto-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Portuguese Toronto: From Kensington Market to Little Portugal.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/portuguese-toronto-history.
The pages have no named author, so the site is given as the author. Add the date you read the page if your style asks for it.