Question 4 A strong and enduring community of Portuguese developed in the Maritimes as a result of the Portuguese fishermen in the area such as the White Fleet. False. Occasionally, over the long history binding the Portuguese fishermen with the maritime communities, some fishermen would come ashore and stay for good. By 1935 they numbered nearly 6,000. But of these, few family members followed. And a Portuguese community never really took root. What Portuguese community there ever was, gradually dwindled as families and especially second generation Portuguese Canadians left for the bigger cities in Ontario and Quebec.