Freed: The King, the Donald and the future of Quebec

Montreal Gazette

2 days ago

The big surprise about our visit from the 'King of Canada' was that Quebecers didn't care.
Sure, the usual nationalist suspects went on about the 'insult to democracy.'
But most Quebecers yawned and shrugged.
In short, they acted like Canadians, 83 per cent of whom said they 'didn't care' about King Charles's visit (while Quebecers polled 90 per cent).
In fact, most Canadians would like to dump the monarchy.
But for that we'd have to reopen the dreaded Constitution: a Pandora's box that would quickly have every province demanding something in exchange.
Alberta would want a pipeline in every home, Quebec the exclusive world rights to the words 'distinct' and 'special.'
Ontario would demand recognition as the official 'centre of the universe' and B.C. a guarantee it can keep complaining about housing prices, while sipping $8 lattes.
Negotiations would continue until shortly after the death of the universe.
So instead of going there, we all just shrugged at the King's visit. But the francophone shrug seems part of a larger recent shrug about Quebec nationalism in general.
How? Let's connect some dots.
First dot: In the recent election, Quebecers single-handedly saved the Liberals. They saw the only election issue as TrumpAmerica, with a Carney-united strong Canada as their best defence.
That's why Quebec originally joined Canada. As Father-of-Confederation George-Étienne Cartier put it, 'Quebec must join' Confederation 'or be absorbed' by America.
For proof Cartier was right, visit New England, where you'll see names like Lavoy (formerly Lavoie), Wallet (Ouellet) and Packet (Paquette).
Their owners often don't know their names were once French.
As Quebecers grow closer to Canada, it's a bad time to promise a Quebec referendum, as PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon keeps doing.
In a recent poll, even one-third of PQ voters said they were 'not in favour' of Quebec sovereignty.
Let alone young Quebecers. In another recent poll, 80 per cent of francophones under 35 were 'proud to live in Canada,' while young people in English Canada polled 74 per cent.
Young Quebecers are now bigger Canadian nationalists than young English Canadians.
The only place separatism is rising is Alberta. Will young Québécois someday fly en masse to Calgary, waving maple leafs and begging Albertans to stay in Canada?
So what's behind these changes?
Second dot: Recent generations of Quebecers have lived different experiences than their nationalist elders.
Their parents and grandparents felt kept down by English Canada and some may still hold a grudge, including our premier.
But younger Quebecers have grown up with francophones running Quebec (while we anglos feel like a threatened minority).
These young francophones have no personal resentment pushing them toward independence. They don't even have any interest in it.
Many travel and work in Canada, especially out West, and feel as comfortable there as I did at their age.
Like young people everywhere, they also love the English-dominated internet, video games and Taylor Swift, but they also love popular French Quebec shows like La Voix.
You can see how older nationalists might worry about this dual attachment. As a woman at a French book launch told me:
'I'm much less nationalist than when I was young, but my three kids — forget it! If I even say the word independence, they think I'm a fossil.'
I sometimes wonder if the urgency some older nationalists feel for sovereignty is because they don't trust their kids to follow.
It's easier for cabinet ministers to beat up on English guitar-string labels than tell their kids to stop speaking English. Like kids everywhere, they'd probably just do the opposite.
Third dot: Recent generations of francophones have gone to school with the whole planet.
When I grew up, most immigrants went to English schools because they couldn't get into French Catholic ones. So francophones were rarely exposed to them.
But today's post-Bill 101 francophones have shared classes with the world — including students in turbans and hijabs — and you see them all socializing together on The Main at night.
Quebec will always have periodic waves of nationalism to protect its language, but currently French is doing well, despite its doomsayers.
So younger francophones seem confident about themselves and their language, within Canada.
Last dot: All of the above is partly why Quebec Liberals are neck-and-neck with the PQ in polls and way ahead of Legault's CAQ.
Quebec sometimes moves in giant swerves, or quiet revolutions — and we may be on the cusp of one, set off bizarrely by, yes, Donald Trump.
Still, you can never predict long-term politics (see America), so I'm not making promises.
Perhaps an unpopular Legault will quit and be replaced by someone more appealing? Or the PQ will drop its referendum pledge and risk a sovereignist hardliner rebellion?
Maybe Trump will suddenly outlaw french fries, french toast and french kisses in America, provoking a new wave of French Quebec nationalism.
Who can say, but for now the ground is ripe for another Quebec swerve, perhaps away from independence.
Trump has already changed the arc of current Canadian history.
He may yet do the same for Quebec, ending an era of 'Le Québec aux Québécois!' and starting one of 'Le Québec pour un Canada Uni!'