Montreal & Quebec
Culture, politics and society in Montreal and modern Quebec.
Population goes … boom!
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…
Student dreams and money woes
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…
Football scores big in Quebec
A traditionally anglo sport has exploded among francophone athletes There’s been a Quiet Revolution in Quebec team sports in recent decades – francophones have started playing football in large numbers. “Canada is hockey”, it is often said, but English Canada has long supported other team sports, too. Every high school across the rest of Canada…
Premiers face headaches in 2nd terms
Legault’s CAQ asked voters to look at its “record” in 2022. That may become more decisive in second term. Ford’s Conservatives face similar challenges. In autumn, there’s a back-to-school season and a new political year. Both are known in French as “la rentrée”. The Canadian politics rentrée in 2023-24 will feature several leaders whose report…
Expos roll through the Townships
Fans cheer old faves in charity road trip Baseball was back – for one evening. The fans wanted to see their Montreal Expos stars again, and they loved it. At this seven-inning charity softball game in Sherbrooke on Wednesday evening, the crowd rang through “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the fifth-inning stretch,…
The burning question
Photo credit: Landon Parenteau Are wildfires more frequent than in the past? An explosion of northern wildfires in June and July kindled great anxiety. Clouds of smoke blew over major U.S. cities in the Northeast and Midwest, and both Toronto and Montreal were smothered for several days. The sun sometimes appeared red when it wasn’t…
Animals: can they bounce back?
When the slaughter stops, they often thrive The hand-drawn map of Lake Massawippi shows all its fishing-spot locations and quirky place names. I bought a copy years ago in Ayer’s Cliff and, while it is colourful, it tells a sadly familiar story. Among the notations scrawled along the edges of this country fishing chart, one…
Tale of two Trudeaus
After 8 years in power, the exit looms for Justin In the late 1960s, Pierre Elliott Trudeau became my favourite political leader. Like a great athlete, he could bring a full house to its feet. He was charismatic, refreshingly brash, unconventional. A new star in the political sky. I still recall each successive ballot of…
Spanish surge in Townships?
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…
Humpty Dumpty, Quebec-style
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…