Gilberto Fernandes

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  • Wrote a play! BASTA! NO MORE FEAR!

    I co-wrote a play with my friends and fellow historians, Craig Heron and Franca Iacovetta, about the Hoggs Hollow tragedy of 1960, and the subsequent uprise of Italian construction workers in Toronto. The play, titled “BASTA! NO MORE FEAR!,” directed by Aida Jordão, will be performed by the Toronto Workers’ Theatre Group (part of the…

  • Remembering Hogg’s Hollow

    To remember and reflect on the Hogg’s Hollow tragedy of March 17, 1960, and its important legacy in the ongoing struggle for occupational health and safety, in Toronto’s Italian community, and in the overall building trades union movement in Ontario, the Toronto Workers’ History Project invited me and three other remarkable speakers to offer our…

  • New article “Reshaping the Ways of Commerce and Civilization” in the Journal of History

    My first article to come out of my research project Laborem Ex Machina: The History of Operating Engineers and Heavy Machinery in Canada’s Construction Industry” was published in the December issue of Journal of History. Find it here: “Reshaping the Ways of Commerce and Civilization: Modern Construction Machines and the Building of Canada’s Mobility Infrastructure, 1860s–1920s,” Journal of History 58: 2–3 (December…

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  • Movimento Perpétuo website launch and reception

    The Movimento Perpétuo: The Portuguese Diaspora in Canada website was launched online on June 1st. This is an initiative of the Embassy of Portugal in Canada, in partnership with the Camões Institute and the Labourers International Union of North America Local 793, to commemorate the 70th anniversaries of Portugal-Canada diplomatic relations (1952-2022) and the beginning…

  • This Pilgrim Nation: book pre-order

    My first book This Pilgrim Nation: the Making of the Portuguese Diaspora in Postwar North America is coming out this Winter with the University of Toronto Press. The official publication date is December 9, 2019; just in time for Christmas. But you can pre-order your copy now at a 25% discount on the University of…

  • City Builders featured in York University’s Grad Life podcast

    Last month I sat down for a conversation with Will Sloan about my City Builders project, which was featured in the York University’s Faculty of Graduate Studies podcast series Grad Life. You can listen to the podcast below.

  • City Builders received Lieutenant Governor of Ontario’s Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation

    The City Builders project was one of this year’s recipients of the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation. The awards ceremony was held at the Provincial Legislative Building, Queen’s Park, on Friday, February 22, presided by the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Thank you Ontario Heritage Trust for this wonderful…

  • City Builders now live

    On September 28, 2018, at York University, I launched the various outputs of my City Builders’ project, including a travelling multimedia exhibition with 80 QR code-activated digital labels; a website packed with digital content, including interactive maps, timelines, videos, audio recordings, photos, and biographies; an oral history series with 19 short videos about retired construction workers…