Montreal & Quebec
Culture, politics and society in Montreal and modern Quebec.
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…
Hatley High — Back to school with a bang
Quebec’s Eastern Townships have a nice little history of filmmaking. Today, with Amazon getting involved, maybe it will get a second wind. Amazon Prime will soon produce a new series based on Brome Lake author Louise Penny’s detective Gamache mysteries, set in fictional Three Pines. Maybe this will stimulate filmmaking in the Townships, which has…
Northrop Frye — critic and Townshipper
Painting of Frye at E.J. Pratt library at Victoria College: a college in-joke, repeated by Frye, was that he appeared to be living “without visible means of support”. The renowned U of T and world literary figure grew up a reader in a devout family rooted in the smaller cities of eastern Canada At a…
Trudeau and me: a battle Royal
With Trudeau and his policies in the news these days, I have naturally been drawn to my past experience with Prime Minister Trudeau. Pierre Trudeau, that is. The real one. This would be back in 1979, a distant historic era for today’s millennials, but often on my mind as we live under the reign of…
A phony crisis: tourism blooms in Montreal
My impression from discussions over recent years with New Yorkers and Europeans, especially young people, is that they have an almost absurdly positive view of Canada generally and Montreal specifically
Census and sensibility: Anglo angst deflated [2018]
Talk of decline and ‘exodus’ comes easily to media, but federal figures are more realistic by David Winch, October 1, 2017 MONTREAL – The touchiness in Quebec about demographic issues could be described, apologies to Jane Austen, as census and sensibility. Following the release of the 2016 mid-term federal census (in August 2017), reactions to…
Telecommuting: city jobs move to country locales
The scenic Townships region near the U.S. border is drawing more city professionals from Montreal, who find small-town life accessible in an online world by David Winch, Montreal Gazette January 8, 2017 KNOWLTON — Susan Pepler wanted to try a new neighbourhood. A downtown Montreal denizen, the Concordia grad and Dawson-certified designer was happy and…