The Portuguese immigrated to Canada around the 19th century. It all began in 1953, when a group of Portuguese pioneers emigrated to Canada (Moura, 2003). Once the first Portuguese pioneer couple crossed the ocean to immigrate to Canada, others followed them and in a sense started a wave. However, in 1957 a volcano, known as Capelinhos, erupted, which ended up forcing Portuguese families and pioneers to move to North America (Morrison & James, 2009), because living conditions had changed. Many Portuguese immigrated to Canada to earn a better living, looking for work to survive and not serve the war. This article will discuss the Portuguese ethnic minority in Canada and take a deeper look at the details. He will discuss the arrival of the Portuguese in Canada and the statistical characteristics of the Portuguese population in Canada. It will also mention the number of Portuguese present, where they settled upon their arrival in Canada, the problems they encountered regarding prejudice and finally they will discuss whether or not they are in the criminal justice system. The Portuguese came to Canada for numerous reasons. The first reason concerns political factors such as the rise of fascism in Portugal. Secondly, due to economic factors such as “offshoring for jobs such as whaling and fishing, and later agricultural, textile and leather work” (Morrison & James, 2009). The intriguing aspect of Portuguese families immigrating to Canada is that most husbands immigrated to Canada before their wives. The reason they immigrated to Canada before their wives was to help start a life in Canada for their family. Towards the 1950s and 1...... half of the document ...... it is stated that ethnic Portuguese students increased significantly (Higgs, 1990). This leads to the conclusion that although the Portuguese had difficulties when they arrived in Canada, things have definitely changed nowadays as they live the life they imagined they would once they left Portugal. Works Cited Fagundes, F. (2007 ). “Through a Portagee Gate” by Charles Reis Felix: Lives Divided into Stories. Melus, 32(2), 151-163.Higgs, D. (1990). Portuguese migration in a global perspective. Toronto: Ontario Multicultural History Society. Morrison, M., & James, S. (2009). Portuguese immigrant families: The impact of acculturation. Family Process, 48(1), 151-166. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2009.01273.xMoura, M. d., & Soares, I. (2003). Pionniers: l'avant-garde de l'immigration portuguese: Canada 1953. MontreÌ al: M. de Almeida Moura.