Stronger Together: A Québécois’s Perspective

By: Jules Crevier

As a Québécois, I have always been proud to be Canadian. Today, in the face of our economic and sovereignty struggle with our southern neighbour, I want to stand up for Canada.

As a teenager I worked at a food kiosk at Montréal’s Expo ’67. I was excited to be part of a major international event that put my city, province and country on the world stage. While it was a time of great pride in Canada, it corresponded with a period of political turmoil in Québec with separatists’ voices threatening unity. The discord in my home province was reflected in my own home.

I was born and raised in Montréal in a very separatist family. My father, a health professional who had studied in France and in the U.S., was a huge advocate for Québec’s independence. My siblings bought his argument that Québec would be better off as an independent country, but I was never sold on it. I liked, and still do, the concept of a united, bilingual Canada.

At the time, I argued with my family that Québec could thrive economically and better protect its French culture and language without separating from the rest of the country.

I questioned what would become of the rest of Canada after Québec’s independence, with Eastern and Western Canada no longer geographically connected. Being a part of the U.S. was not an outcome I wanted even though I admired the U.S. where I vacationed often and did post graduate studies. I strongly believed, even fifty years ago, that if Québec separated, the U.S. might eventually absorb parts of Canada—if not all of it.

In other words, I maintained, we would all be stronger together as a unified Canada.

Since those turbulent years, Québec—one of the four founding provinces of Canada—has continued to prosper as an important part of our country. It boasts a diverse economy that includes agriculture, manufacturing and energy production. Its strong science and technology sector, including R&D, contributes to an important knowledge-based economy. The city of Montréal is home to many international businesses in the finance, aerospace and pharmaceutical industries.

Culturally, Québec is Canada’s only province with a French-speaking majority. By preserving and promoting the French language and culture, it contributes to the national identity of the entire country through literature, music and film.

This makes me feel positive about a strong Quebec in a strong Canada, even though I am concerned that today separatism is still being discussed not only in Quebec but also in Alberta.

With Trump’s return to power for a second (and hopefully last!) term a few months ago, all hell has broken loose in the U.S. and his policies are sending shockwaves around the globe. The MAGA crowd has become increasingly unfriendly toward foreigners—and not just undocumented aliens but also Canadians. They appear to have forgotten that Canadians generate considerable income and employment for Americans and that we are each other’s main trading partner and traditional allies.

Even though Mark Carney reiterated, in person, that Canada is not for sale, Donald Trump is still disrespectfully talking about making Canada, including Québec, the 51^st state.

Why, as a Québécois, would I ever want to be a part of that scenario? While Canada is still a work in progress, we are a stable, welcoming and democratic world powerhouse in which Québec’s rights are protected. Our kind and gentle culture contrasts sharply with that of our American neighbour.

While it would be an unmitigated disaster for Canada to be annexed by the U.S., it would be even worse for French-speaking Québécois. Given how minorities are being treated in the U.S., annexation would make us second-class citizens. This would spell the eventual end of our French culture and language which we have fought, and continue to fight, so hard to preserve.

This time, my siblings concur with me that Canada needs to stand strong against the U.S. Even my father, were he alive, would most likely agree with me that an independent Quebec and a fractured Canada would be easier targets for Donald Trump.

I believe now more than ever that we are stronger together. Let’s do what we can to keep it that way, particularly in the face of Donald Trump’s threat to our sovereignty.

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Jules Crevier is enjoying his retirement near Ottawa.