Quote:
Originally Posted by esquire
How is that any different from an anglo living in, say, Drummondville? Even if the anglo watches the CBC News at night instead of TVA, there is probably going to be some baseline level of integration with the community where they work, shop, maybe belong to a community organization or two, etc. I guess it's possible that someone could use technology to live remotely in English Canada and seal themselves off totally from their immediate surroundings, but it strikes me as a bit unlikely.
There are people in Manitoba who live their lives mostly in Punjabi, German, Russian, Chinese, Cree and even French, but they are still considered Manitoban.
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To
Acajack, an anglophone resident in Quebec is free to call himself a Quebecker, but will never be considered Quebecois unless he/she makes sincere efforts to inculcate him/herself to the majority. Being a Quebecois is a state of mind. Even being able to speak decent French is not enough to make yourself Quebecois. You have to buy into the culture and mindset in order to join the club.
To use an Atlantic Canadian analogy - you will remain a "come from away." I used to half jokingly say that an immigrant to PEI would remain a CFA until the seventh generation. I don't think this is so much the case now as it used to be, but in the old days, a lot of value used to be placed on ones physical connections to the Island, and to the Island's traditions and heritage. This isn't to say that one couldn't eventually become an "Islander." For example there is a large Lebanese community on PEI. They've been there for well over 100 years. There have been Lebanese-Canadians who have been Mayor of Charlottetown and Premier(s) of PEI. They have been adopted by the Island community and are considered one of "us".
So, this isn't just a Quebec problem. A lot of insular societies have similar world views. Just as Islanders have adopted their Lebanese community, so have the Quebecois with (selected) anglophones. The adoption process in Quebec however is
highly selective, and I doubt that more than 1-3% of anglo-Quebeckers are also considered Quebecois.
How about it
Acajack? What percentage of Quebeckers do you think are also considered Quebecois???