John F. Santos has donated his personal papers to the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, with Ilda Januário’s and the PCHP’s assistance.

Born in Lisbon, on April 7, 1934, Santos grew up in a family of humble means. Having lost his father at an early age, Santos was raised by his mother, who had three other children. With only a basic formal education, Santos became an apprentice butcher in his youth to support his family. In his early 20s, he went back to study at night school and took an interest in organized sports, first with basketball and later as a competitive rower. Santos decided to move to Canada in 1960, at age 26. He first worked as a farmhand picking tobacco, vegetables, and fruit in Delhi and Simcoe, in Norfolk County in southwestern Ontario. In 1965, he moved to Toronto and found a job as a factory workers. First as a machine operator with the Canada Cable & Wire; then as floater, driver, assembler and spot welder with Massey Ferguson; as a rotter operator at De Havilland-Douglas Aircraft; and later as a painter with the Ford Motor Co. Santos continued to attend night-school, taking language and technical courses. In 1969, he earned a real estate license and changed careers. Initially he ran his own businesses – John F. Santos Real Estate Ltd, Predial United Realty Inc., and X. De Lima Realty Inc. – until he became a broker with RE/Max HomeCentre Inc. in 1984.

Santos was involved in citizenship drives in the Portuguese community and was active in the Liberal Party’s riding associations of Etobicoke-Centre, Kingston, Cambridge, and Kitchener. He was also involved with Portuguese-Canadian community organizations, especially the  First Portuguese Canadian Club, where he built a strong sports program, including its successful football team. This led him to become the vice-president of the Canadian National Soccer League in 1979-1982. Santos was also involved in the founding and administration of other community organizations, including the Federation of Portuguese Canadian Business and Professionals, the Portuguese Canadian Credit Union, the Vila Gaspar Corte-Real senior residence, and the Orpheon Stella Maris.

His volunteer work in the Portuguese community was rewarded with nominations to several boards and committees, including the Canadian Consultative Council of Multiculturalism (1973-1977), the Metropolitan Police Complaints Board (1982-1989), the Refugee Status Advisory Committee (1985-1986), the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (1985-1989), and the Assessment Review Board (1989-1995). He also became an emigration delegate to the Portuguese Government in Toronto (1982-1983). In 2013, the President of Portugal, Cavaco Silva, awarded Santos a Commander of the National Order of Merit medal.

Santos self-published his memoirs titled Portugal is My Motherland, Canada My Country in 2012.

(Adapted from original text by Ilda Januário)