Anglophone Quebcers leaving the province

[Leafless]

And I'm pointing out that there is no evidence of it happening to Anglos in Quebec...although being a minority, it wouldn't be a reverse.

What exactly do you consider evidence?

Complaints made public through the media from Quebec English speaking residents courtesy of the 'Quebec language police'.

[M.Dancer]

What exactly do you consider evidence?

Complaints made public through the media from Quebec English speaking residents courtesy of the 'Quebec language police'.

lnkplsthxkbye

[frankbaker]

I'm an anglo Quebecer and if Quebec separates, I propose that Canada's capital is moved from Ottawa to Victoria BC. Other good options would be Vancouver or Calgary. This would reflect the country's new balance. The capital has moved before, before Ottawa there were other cities. True the costs would be significant but it would be worth it. A commission could be set up to oversee the move. Significant buildings that have special heritage value, like the Parliament building and the Supreme court building would benefit from a special relocation fund. They would basically be carefully de-constructed, transported and rebuilt faithfully as they were (like the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt was moved). Of course it would be cheaper to build new buildings for these institutions but keeping these could be worth it, it would work to unite the country in a collective project and give it a sense of continuity. Other less significant buildings, like the PM's house or the Canada Post building would simply be put to sale. New buildings would be built or bought in Victoria. Costs for relocating foreign embassies would be at each country's expenses. As for civil workers and private businesses catering to them (hotels, real estate groups, etc.) any opportunity lost here would pop up in Victoria. Basically there would be a drop in the market for the Ottawa region and local city pressure groups would scream injustice but for the long-term sake of the country these should ignored, or compensated symbolically. Of course there are capital cities in other countries that are at a rock's throw from their neighbors, but it wouldn't be healthy here. Ottawa is too QC-oriented. The new Canada's balance of power wouldn't be there anymore. The two founding nations myth would have to be recast, the new emphasis would be rebalanced on Canada's British heritage, just like Australia, it would be turned towards the future, the West, the Pacific and its rising Asian partners.

[frankbaker]

As a Quebecker of Scottish ancestry, I would like to see the Maritimes join Quebec following independence. I understand this is highly improbable but I believe this option should be considered just as seriously. Both share a common Celtic heritage that is more and more foreign to the rest of Canada. Quebec has the merit of fighting for its heritage, while Canada is slowly drowning its own heritage in blind multiculturalism. No offence but statistics show that pretty soon being Canadian will mean being Pakistani or Chinese, indifferent to when or how this land was first setlled, by pioneering French, Irish and Scots. There are things that bond people stronger than language, common traditions, relation to the land, music, shared hardship, etc. An english-speaking New Brunswicker of Irish ancestry has a hundred times more in common with a french-speaking Quebecker than with another english-speaking Canadian from BC of Chinese or Indu descent. These things matter more than than people will admit to themselves, they're the glue that gives a country a common identity. People of Irish, Scottish or French descent (most of which came from Brittany) are Celtic brothers that can work together to defend what they hold in common. Maybe one day folks in the Maritimes will realize their heritage had more chance of lasting by staying with Quebec than staying with Canada.

[seabee]

From a Québec perspective, I would like to add, like Québécois, the Scott were also victims of persecutions from the English, and that many Scotts emigrated to France following Ye Aulde Alliance, became french citizens, some of which emigrated to the french colony of Canada, part of Nouvelle-France. Immediately after the battle of the Heights of Abraham Martin (nicknamed in period documents as "l'Écossais", the Scott, established in Quebec circa 1617, the occupying army in the city was mostly made up of Irish an Scott soldiers, the officiers being for the most part English, but with a few Scotts, including Murray. And within hours, the Scotts, mostly Highlanders became very friendly with the citizens, and vice versa, to the point that by October 1759, the de facto governor, general Murray, had to explicitely forbid marriages between the military and canadian girls. Some even deserted to marry. After the 1760 capitulation of Canada, the Highlander regiment was dissolved, and many Scotts married canadian girls, And there many important Scott people in the history of the Québécois. Malcolm Fraser was probably the most important of them. To this day, in Québec, the province, there are many Québécois families with family names which are distinctly Scott, such as Handfield.

[Peter F]

To this day, in Québec, the province, there are many Québécois families with family names which are distinctly Scott, such as Handfield.

or Fraser...

[August1991]

From a Québec perspective, I would like to add, like Québécois, the Scott were also victims of persecutions from the English, and that many Scotts emigrated to France following Ye Aulde Alliance, became french citizens, some of which emigrated to the french colony of Canada, part of Nouvelle-France.

Mel Gibson might see things that way but it's an exaggeration.

The Scots in Quebec who intermarried were Catholics. Presbyterians (usually wealthy) remained apart.

One forgets that the primary difference between people in Canada before, say, 1960 was not language but rather religion. It was relatively common for Anglophones to marry Francophones but it was rare to non-existent for a Catholic to marry a Protestant. An interesting feature of mixed language marriages in Quebec is that children often spoke the language of the community which more often than not was French.