Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
Perhaps people are resentful of Toronto in this way because its cultural leadership is so half-assed, and unsatisfying. So when it tries to walk the walk, people don't find it's walking the walk.
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If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that it's less abstract than this. I think Toronto has limited relevance to the day-to-day cultural lives of people in the rest of the country. Here in Vancouver, for example, people mostly seem to be into North-America-wide stuff and a lot of them either have ties to some other country or to the US. People might move to Toronto for a job, like they might move to Calgary, but Toronto is hardly the primary or sole destination for ambitious people originating in this corner of the world. I know a lot more people who moved from BC to California than I do people who moved to Toronto, particularly if you leave out the ones who were simply going back to Ontario after a few years in BC.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, there's a lot more emphasis on local culture. People are more inclined to watch the local news, pay attention to local bands, etc. People like a mix of local, Toronto, Montreal, and Boston sports teams. Those who move away seem to either head to Alberta if they want high-paying blue collar work or go to a diverse mix of places for other things.
Toronto itself is demographically disconnected from other parts of Canada in that a large part of its population moved there from other countries.
In any case I think the "cultural capital" stuff is awfully vague and meaningless. What is culture? What makes a place a cultural capital, and why does every country need to have one?