Gilberto Fernandes

Plusieurs communautés francophones canadiennes sont en situation minoritaire ; elles sont néanmoins les artisanes de leur propre histoire. Elles demandent des institutions de langue française. Elles rédigent des manifestes, des lettres et des pétitions pour revendiquer et pour créer des espaces où elles pourront vivre en français. Cette prise de parole a pris bien des formes depuis 1867; les documents inclus dans cette anthologie en sont la preuve. L’anthologie est une invitation à découvrir les paroles utilisées par les francophonies canadiennes pour dénoncer, demander, revendiquer, lutter, mais aussi façonner le présent et l’avenir.

Francophone communities in Canada exist, for the most part, in minority situations, yet they are the architects of their own history. They have demanded French-language institutions. They have written manifestos, letters, and petitions to demand and create spaces where they can live in French. “Speaking up” has taken many forms since 1867; the documents included in this anthology are proof of this. The anthology is an invitation to discover the words used by francophone minority communities to denounce, demand, fight back, but also to shape the present and the future.

I was the web designer and digital artist in this project led by Marcel Martel and Joel Belliveau. Launch date, March 27, 2024

To commemorate the 70th anniversaries of the establishing of Portugal-Canada diplomatic relations (2022) and the beginning of Portuguese mass migration to Canada (2023), the Embassy of Portugal in Canada hired my company, Tempo Historical Consulting, to produce a travelling exhibition and a website, titled Movimento Perpétuo: The Portuguese Diaspora in Canada.

The website was launched on June 1st, 2023. It contains more than 70 profiles of Portuguese-Canadian individuals and organizations in Ontario and Quebec; close to 90 digitized artifacts (some in 3D) crowdsourced from community members, most of them featuring audio commentary from the participants; 15 virtual tours of locations in Toronto, Guelph, Caledon, and Montreal with audio commentary; 75 short documentaries from RTPi, NFB, and other sources; an illustrated timeline with over 300 entries; selections of digitized historical records from public archives and personal collections; infographics on various statistics related to the Portuguese diaspora in Canada; among other features. For an overview of the public’s reaction to the website, see here.

The exhibition was first shown at Toronto Metro Hall between September 11 and 22. It consisted of 12 display panels; 6 display cases with multiple artifacts crowdsourced from community partners; 3 television sets screening documentary and animation films, archival news footage from Bell Media, and home videos; multiple QR-activated digital content; and artwork from 7 Portuguese-Canadian artists based in Toronto.

The official unveiling, on September 15, was attended by the President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Melanie Joly, her Portuguese counterpart João Gomes Cravinho, the State Secretary of Portuguese Communities Paulo Cafôfo, the Mayor of Toronto Olivia Chow, Members of Parliament of Canada and Portugal, and 100 hundred distinguished guests. This event was covered extensively by Canadian and Portuguese media.

There was also an open reception on September 17 that featured the live performance of Weaving By Moonlight, by the artists Teresa Ascenção and Moon Palmar.

For photos and videos of the making of, the exhibition, the receptions, and the artwork, see here.

As part of the larger project that I am directing at the Global Labour Research Centre, York University, funded by the International Union of Operating Engineers’ Local 793, I am creating a podcast series with six hour-long episodes. Each episode is dedicated to different topics in the labour, technological, war, social and cultural history of operating engineers and their heavy equipment in Canada. They include historical narratives, interviews, readings by voice actors, and soundscapes. Each episode has its own digital companion with scanned historical records, photos, artwork, videos, interactive maps, animations, and infographics. The target audiences are the members of Local 793, the sizeable number of fans of heavy construction equipment worldwide, and members of the general public interested in the history of labour and technology.

Expected completion in the Fall of 2023.

This project was dedicated to preserving, recording, examining, and divulging the history of metropolitan Toronto’s immigrant construction workers and their labour organization after the Second World War. Its outputs included a travelling multimedia exhibition; a website packed with digital humanities content, including interactive maps, timelines, videos, audio recordings, photos, and biographies; an oral history series with twenty-eight short videos featuring retired construction workers, labour organizers, and community advocates; and a four-part documentary. I completed this project during my stay at York University’s Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies in 2017-19, funded by the Labourers International Union of North America Local 183 (main funder) and the Mariano A. Elia Chair in Italian-Canadian Studies.

In 2019, the City Builders received the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario’s Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation.

See the City Builders website for more: toronto-city-builders.org

The Portuguese Canadian History Project (PCHP) is a non-profit, community outreach organization, founded in 2008 by myself and Dr. Susana Miranda, and later joined by Dr. Raphael Costa and Dr. Emanuel da Silva. Since 2009, the PCHP has worked closely with the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections at York University Libraries, where we have facilitated the donation of ten archival records collections. Our main objectives are to 1) preserve the collective memory of Portuguese immigrants and their descendants in Canada, and 2) democratize access to historical knowledge, both in its consumption and its production. Visit the PCHP’s website to find more information about our mission, principles, past and present activities.

Between 2015 and 2017 I co-produced the Canadian content of the daily show “Hora dos Portugueses” on Portugal’s international public television and radio broadcaster RTPi/ RDPi, which highlights the Portuguese diaspora around the world. Our segments showcased the work, initiatives, achievements, challenges, and various experiences of both high-profile and less-known Portuguese-Canadian individuals and organizations. Some of our interviewees included Charles Sousa (Ontario Minister of Finance), Carlos Leitão (Quebec Minister of Finance), Peter Fonseca (Member of Parliament), Jerry Dias (labour leader), Ana Paula Lopes (entrepreneur), Sid & Alex Seixeiro (sports commentators), Melissa Grelo (TV hostess), Paulino Nunes (actor), Mike Rita (comedian), Anthony de Sa (author), George Pimentel (photographer), Sandy Miranda (musician), Matthew Tavares (musician), Lucas Silveira (musician), Alexandre Amâncio (video game designer), Dale Brazão (investigative journalist), Nuno Cristo (musician, instrument maker), Joe Manteiga (boxing trainer), Manuela Marujo (professor), Maria João Dodman (professor), Mário Monteiro (biochemist), and many others. For the complete listing of our episodes (in Portuguese and English) see here.

In 2012, the Consulate-General of Portugal in Toronto invited the PCHP to curate a photo exhibition on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Portuguese mass migration to Canada. We were given financial and logistic support from the Secretary of State of Portuguese Communities, the Camões Institute, and various community organizations in the city. The exhibit was held at City Hall on May 13, 2013, to a crowd of about 150 people, among which were numerous Canadian and Portuguese dignitaries, including some of the surviving members of the 1953 migrant cohort. This traveling exhibit has since been on display in multiple other venues and events, including the Dundas West Festival; Archbishop Romero Secondary School; Almada Negreiros Gallery, Consulate General of Portugal in Toronto; Azorean House of Ontario; IC Savings – Little Portugal; Scott Library, York University; Victoria College, University of Toronto; and Museum Strathroy-Caradoc. When not on the road, this exhibition is on permanent display at the Gallery of the Portuguese Pioneers.

In 2016, I completed a digital companion for this exhibition with the help of two public history students from York University. You can access this interactive multimedia feature here.

In 2012, St. Christopher House (present-day West Neighbourhood House) celebrated its 100th anniversary with various events throughout the year. To kick-off the celebrations, the Century Committee decided to organize a public history exhibit on March 2-3, which I curated. This was a wonderful event that drew many community members, including past and present St. Chris’ participants and staff. After this, the Toronto City Archives invited us to set up our exhibit in their atrium, where it stayed between November 2012 – April 2013. Some of the exhibits’ materials remain on display at West Neighbourhood House locations.

I have since created a digital version of the exhibit on the PCHP’s website. You can find it here.