I remember during the first PQ government in the late 1970s. I was a student at McGill and some minister (my gut tells me thst it was Bernard Landry) gave a speech or presentation. I had voted PQ (it was time to end the Bourassa government) and I got to ask a question.
I pointed out that I had been born in Montréal, that my dad was from Sillery, and his mom from Beauport and that I knew about her grandfather (from Québec city). I'd gone to high school in Trois Rivières, but that my primary language was English because my mother never picked up French. The question was in anglophone french.
I asked if he considered me "québécois".
He started nicely. Talking about how I was part of the mosaïque des peuples québécois.
But eventually, his answer ended up contrasting me (and people like me) with québécois. It was subtle, but definitely obvious.
I got my answer. My guess is that he was proud of his answer and felt that I should be going away happy.
Thanks for this. Many sovereigntists unfortunately harbour resentment against Anglophones, even to this day.
But I think - and hope - most of them, and most francophones don’t share that sentiment.
Here’s what Lévesque once said :
I would like to try to get to the bottom of this rather tired question about who—in our view, supposedly—is entitled to call himself or herself a Quebecer. This very artificial, but also very insistent uncertainty even lies at the bottom of some concerns that have been voiced in several quarters that we would not consider the Anglophone vote valid than the referendum results come in. This is a sort of maximum variation of the notion that has been promoted and particularly in opposition quarters for over three years, according to which, for us, to be a Quebecer, one must be a French Canadian and even also a Catholic, whether practising or not. So, let’s come to grips, if possible, once and for all, with this business of who is a Québécois or a Quebecer.”
“‘Quebecer’ is a name that, to us, unites all those who were born or who live in Québec and it links together their many language, ethnic, cultural, religious, geographic and other differences. It is the mark of belonging to a people and to a land and the use of the word or its French equivalent ‘Québécois’ is in no way the exclusive property of one group and much less of one party.
(…)
Today, the word Quebecer is recognized and whether the term is used in English or in French, Quebecers in English may do things that are more or less intelligent or palatable and Québécois in French may act brilliantly or stupidly, but in no case could their title to their Québec identity possibly be challenged. I hope that’s clear!”
I thought that would have settled it. Maybe it needs to be repeated.
My dad (from Sillery) hated the modern use of québécois. He figured the old use (analogous to montréalais) was the correct one.
We moved from Montréal to the US when my wife's company offered her a very good job at the head office in Rhode Island. I was a big fan of a lot of Bill 101 (I remember what Québec was like before la chartre), but I always felt like denying kids the chance to become more mobile was a crime.
I remember during the first PQ government in the late 1970s. I was a student at McGill and some minister (my gut tells me thst it was Bernard Landry) gave a speech or presentation. I had voted PQ (it was time to end the Bourassa government) and I got to ask a question.
I pointed out that I had been born in Montréal, that my dad was from Sillery, and his mom from Beauport and that I knew about her grandfather (from Québec city). I'd gone to high school in Trois Rivières, but that my primary language was English because my mother never picked up French. The question was in anglophone french.
I asked if he considered me "québécois".
He started nicely. Talking about how I was part of the mosaïque des peuples québécois.
But eventually, his answer ended up contrasting me (and people like me) with québécois. It was subtle, but definitely obvious.
I got my answer. My guess is that he was proud of his answer and felt that I should be going away happy.
Thanks for this. Many sovereigntists unfortunately harbour resentment against Anglophones, even to this day.
But I think - and hope - most of them, and most francophones don’t share that sentiment.
Here’s what Lévesque once said :
I would like to try to get to the bottom of this rather tired question about who—in our view, supposedly—is entitled to call himself or herself a Quebecer. This very artificial, but also very insistent uncertainty even lies at the bottom of some concerns that have been voiced in several quarters that we would not consider the Anglophone vote valid than the referendum results come in. This is a sort of maximum variation of the notion that has been promoted and particularly in opposition quarters for over three years, according to which, for us, to be a Quebecer, one must be a French Canadian and even also a Catholic, whether practising or not. So, let’s come to grips, if possible, once and for all, with this business of who is a Québécois or a Quebecer.”
“‘Quebecer’ is a name that, to us, unites all those who were born or who live in Québec and it links together their many language, ethnic, cultural, religious, geographic and other differences. It is the mark of belonging to a people and to a land and the use of the word or its French equivalent ‘Québécois’ is in no way the exclusive property of one group and much less of one party.
(…)
Today, the word Quebecer is recognized and whether the term is used in English or in French, Quebecers in English may do things that are more or less intelligent or palatable and Québécois in French may act brilliantly or stupidly, but in no case could their title to their Québec identity possibly be challenged. I hope that’s clear!”
I thought that would have settled it. Maybe it needs to be repeated.
For what it's worth, this is my grandmother's grandfather (I think I'm right - I know I'm one of his descendants): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil%C3%A9as_Gagnon
My dad (from Sillery) hated the modern use of québécois. He figured the old use (analogous to montréalais) was the correct one.
We moved from Montréal to the US when my wife's company offered her a very good job at the head office in Rhode Island. I was a big fan of a lot of Bill 101 (I remember what Québec was like before la chartre), but I always felt like denying kids the chance to become more mobile was a crime.