Josh Freed: Celebrate Canada and Quebec by swatting bugs and jumping in a lake

Montreal Gazette

10 hours ago

Our two national holidays have come and gone, but like most Montrealers I hardly noticed them, which is usually a sign that all's well in Quebec.
The two days are barometers of our political times, so here's my post-holiday review of Canada Day and St-Jean.
Canada Day has never been an overly patriotic or nationalistic day, one of many advantages of being Canadian.
Most Canadians traditionally celebrate by going to the country for the long weekend to smack bugs and jump in a lake.
But this year Canada Day was on steroids in much of the country as people belted out the anthem, unfurled supersized U.S.-style Canadian flags and wore T-shirts saying 'Canada is not for sale' and 'Never 51!'
Here in Montreal, the Canada Day parade was cancelled at the last minute, as usual. But a small informal 'march' happened in Old Montreal that attracted so many sympathetic American and European tourists, they probably outnumbered us locals, who don't always attend these things.
Canada's new nationalism has also infected Quebec, where recent polls show most Quebecers are very proud to be Canadian, even more so than people in some other provinces.
Many francophones are suddenly feeling sappy about maple syrup, Mounties and moose, while humming the national anthem in the shower.
The secret glue that's cementing our country is U.S. President Donald Trump, who's made us all appreciate what he's threatened to take away. From coast-to-coast we're taking pride in boycotting U.S. goods and discussing where in the States we aren't going.
'So where are you NOT going this summer?'
'Oh, we're not going to Vermont or Old Orchard, like we usually do. We'll be staycationing in Snowdon instead. And where WON'T you be going?'
Meanwhile, in Ottawa, our new PM, Mark Carney, gave a brief speech on July 1 about Canada being a kind, caring nation, and it rang true given that our southern neighbour has officially abandoned those virtues. Instead, the U.S. has embraced a new motto: 'Nice guys and countries finish last.'
As much of the world turns crueller and more selfish, Canada is managing to look good, by just not changing much.
Our PM was elected as a Liberal, but he's a former banker who's pushing his party to the centre, talking pipelines, business, and 'Build baby, build,' while still sounding liberal about social policy.
So he's kind of a Liberal Conservative.
Until a few decades ago, we had a party like that called the Progressive Conservatives, under leaders like Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney. But then Western 'reformers' turned it into the more radical and shrill Conservative party that Pierre Poilievre now incarnates.
Lately, with Trump threatening, many Canadians were ready to move to the political centre, so the Liberals did, stealing economic policies from the Tories but staying socially liberal.
Thus we elected Carney, an old-fashioned Progressive Conservative.
Our new Liberal PM is actually a Red Tory.
St-Jean: Canada Day's new patriotism may have stolen some thunder from Quebec's Fête nationale this June 24, though nationalism has been on the decline here for years.
There was a big Rachel Ave. parade and hundreds of low-key block parties and concerts, but most Quebecers celebrated the day like other Canadians — by going to the country to swat bugs and jump in a lake.
Much of the francophone media's June 24 coverage was about remembering a famous St-Jean night 50 years ago, in 1975, when more than a million people celebrated atop Mount Royal in a great wave of nationalism.
One of them was me, curious to see a remarkable event that symbolized the times.
I still remember the scene: There were vast mobs of people swathed head-to-toe in fleur-de-lis, and giant bonfires being lit everywhere you looked, occasionally barbecuing Canadian flags.
Gilles Vigneault had just written 'Gens du Pays' for the occasion, which quickly became Quebec's unofficial national anthem, and also its Happy Birthday song, even for many anglos. The crowds sang it again and again along with 'le Québec aux Québécois' until dawn, when the police broke up the party.
But as usual in Quebec, as an anglo I felt totally welcomed as part of the gang by nationalists delighted I was there to celebrate.
The intensity of the nationalism was awesome and remained so for several years. Compare that with more recent St-Jean activities: genteel neighbourhood block parties attended by all ethnicities and outdoor concerts that are dwarfed by the jazz festival, which is practically Quebec's modern national holiday.
Like Canada Day, June 24 has become more of a national day off. This St-Jean I didn't even see many fleur-de-lis flying on homes in my Plateau neighbourhood, which was once festooned with them.
These days people are proud to be Quebecers, but proud to be Canadians, too.
Quebecers aren't heading to Mount Royal in millions, but we are all thrumming proudly, pleased our province and our country feel like a refuge against a threatening world.
Quebecers are still fighting for sovereignty, but like most Canadians, that's now sovereignty from the U.S.
So let's thank Donald Trump for making our national holidays great again.