The Portuguese Canadian History Project | Projeto de História Luso-Canadiana (PCHP | PHLC) is a non-profit, community outreach initiative, founded in Toronto, in 2008, and currently directed by Gilberto Fernandes, Susana Miranda, Raphael Costa and Emanuel Silva. We are committed to locating historical records in the hands of private individuals and organizations in the Portuguese-Canadian community, and having them placed in the care of the Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections, York University Libraries. Community associations, social service providers, union locals, community press, and advocacy organizations, along with a politician, a poet, journalists, researchers, and social workers have entrusted the PCHP | PHLC with their collections.

Overall, the PCHP | PHLC aims to preserve the collective memory of Portuguese immigrants and their descendants in Canada and democratize access to historical knowledge, both in its consumption and production. We believe that historiography, even that which is produced “from below”, remains inaccessible to most, including those “ordinary” men and women whose voices it seeks to amplify. Without dispelling the importance of the journal article or book format, we consider it imperative for the discipline of history to explore other ways of connecting with the general public in order to attract the attention it deserves.