Montreal & Quebec

Mark Carney’s federal Liberals are already facing restless voters after broad promises. And provincial Liberals are challenging two-term CAQ government in Quebec. Suddenly, everything is about politics — municipal, federal, provincial. What is going on? I voted last Sunday in our municipal election in the Townships – for two council members and a mayor. And…

Quebecers have long embraced a sports team that made them proud. Will it always hold their hearts? With the return of the fall season, NHL hockey looms again, as imposing as ever in Quebec culture and society. You have to wonder: Are culture and sport the same thing here? The death of Canadiens great Ken…

New air facility on South Shore set to become the “Townships airport” Everyone’s flying everywhere. The phenomenon is so widespread, we scarcely notice it anymore. I am no frequent-flyer, unlike members of my broader family who jet away somewhere every month or even sometimes every week: to Vancouver, Florida, London, Bangladesh, Thailand, you name it….

PM St. Laurent showed integrity, competence — but image remains grey. (graphic credit: Macleans) The last two months have seen a whirlwind of political activity in Canada, with the rapid-fire resignations of a finance minister then the prime minister, followed by the suspension of Parliament and the launch of a Liberal leadership race. All this…

Does it matter if we Canadians don’t know the ‘other’ culture’s stars? Boomers will be boomers. Give us a name-brand musician from the 1960s or 1970s, and we flock to the concert halls. Whether it’s vintage James Taylor or Pink Floyd or whoever (Who-ever?) at the Bell Centre, I’ve tried to see ’em all. Or…

Quebec polls have consistently shown the CAQ falling and the PQ rising, with the Liberals stagnant. Will that last? Credit, Journal de Montreal. Have we seen this movie before? A restless Quebec electorate tires of a government after a couple of terms. The beleaguered party leader struggles against the new tides of opinion. Then comes…

Cities reach for the sky as our population has grown since the 1960s . New demographic tides mean change for Canada, Quebec and for anglos At elementary school in the mid-1960s, I used to love browsing through the Canadian Oxford School Atlas: its colour-coded maps highlighted details of our geography and economy, with lots of…

A three-month crisis ends after a failed attempt at wedge politics MONTREAL (Dec. 24) – In French, it’s called a “psychodrame” – an emotional crisis with a quick rise and fall. That was the university tuition-fees crisis in Quebec, fall of 2023. Launched in early October by a reckless Premier after a stunning defeat for…

Hispanic newcomers change Sherbrooke In recent years I have done business with a Peruvian-born pharmacist in Magog, a furnace repairman from Buenos Aires in North Hatley, an Ecuadorian veterinarian in Rock Forest, and a short-order cook from Mexico serving breakfast near Katevale. This sprinkling of Hispanic residents in the Townships has scarcely been noticed in…

Opposition parties must piece together a winning alternative vs. a populist government. Defaced CAQ poster, above, reflects views of some in Montreal. Volatile. Yes, that’s politics in Quebec. Parties rise and fall, leaders come and go. Political movements look dynamic, even unbeatable, then get levelled. Remember the Union Nationale? The ADQ? The NDP’s run as…