Articles, Canada

Canada’s Two Cultures: Toronto and Montreal/Quebec City

Canada’s Montreal and Quebec Slide Show – Images by Lee Foster

by Lee Foster

Canada always has been and always will be two countries, separate English-speaking and French-speaking cultures. This periodically causes anxiety among Canadians as competing visions of togetherness are put to a vote.

The differences are also part of the reason why Canada has an enduring fascination for travelers.

Don’t be surprised if, at some point, the French-speaking separatists in Quebec Province once again push through a referendum calling for the province to become an independent country. A referendum in 1980 lost 3-to-2, and in 1995 by about 1 percent of the voters.

For Canadians, that would be a darkly anxious event, as they contemplate the future of their society. Separation would probably be bloodless, but it would be passionate and deeply traumatic.

For a traveler, the tension between the English and French in Canada creates a cultural energy, a dynamism that gives the country a special appeal and makes it different. The dispute has been simmering since the English General Wolfe defeated the French General Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City in 1759.

If you want to contemplate this Canadian culture, a suitable plan would be to sample the major cities, starting with predominantly English Toronto, then to French-English Montreal, and finally all-French Quebec City.

The transport mode to use while you ponder Canada ‘s identity is the entity that has tied the country together–the railroad. VIA Rail service can take you in first-class comfort between Toronto and Montreal, then between Montreal and Quebec City. A Canadian airline, such as Air Canada, can also whisk you in and out of these cities.

While you experience the special attractions in each of these great cities, you may detect an underlying meditation about what it means to be Canada.

TORONTO

Toronto is the #1 visitor destination in Canada. Travelers come to see this temple of skyscraper commerce, view the theatre, and marvel at such wonders as one of the world’s tallest freestanding structures–the CN Tower, where an Eco-Dek attraction celebrates the finite natural environment of the earth. Be sure to travel to the top of this tower on the speedy elevators and get a view of the downtown buildings. Greater Toronto is the most populated area in Canada , with roughly 5 million residents.

Near the CN Tower, allow time to walk the Harbourfront, a lovely outdoor space devoted to cultural activities. Stop in at York Quay Centre to see contemporary, working craftsmen, such as potters and glass blowers.

Toronto strikes a traveler as a city more focused on the business of today and tomorrow than on the legacy of the language past, which troubles Montreal. Toronto is a secure place to do business, while there were questions about Montreal. Financial and commercial leadership in the nation gradually shifted from Montreal to Toronto in the last 30 years.

Both Toronto and Montreal have vast, underground cities that are sophisticated northern-climate escapes from the wind-chill winters. A traveler who sees these miles of underground is reminded of the identity that Canadian tourism would most like to obliterate–that Canada is the place where the cold weather comes from. Toronto has large, interior atrium spaces, such as the Galleria at BCE Place or the lobby of the CBC Building, a house for media. The Toronto and Montreal subways are marvels of efficiency.

Toronto has managed to locate some housing in its downtown area, so the city remains alive in the evening and on weekends. The market in the St. Lawrence neighborhood is an example. Intact neighborhoods are a characteristic of Toronto. The Chinatown tea shop Ten Ren’s on Dundas Street, the second-hand garments at Kensington Market, the brick houses of Cabbagetown on Metcalf between Carlton and Winchester, and the youngish feel of Queen Street, home of the MTV-like local TV station, City TV, are all worth exploring.

Toronto is a major center of theatre, surpassed in the English-speaking world only by London and New York .

Vital musicals from Miss Saigon to Hairspray have had long runs at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

There is also a strong tradition of satire and comedy, especially at the Second City theater company. One biting skit in an earlier presentation suggested the English-French tensions. The skit concerned a champion hockey player from Quebec Province who played for the top team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The hockey player goes back to his province to visit his mother after the winning season in Toronto. The mother can’t focus on his achievements; rather, she is stressed by his sacrilegious act of playing hockey for the infidels, the Torontonians. Another witticism at Second City: If Quebec pulls out, they should be allowed back in every fourth year, so their athletes can help Canada in the Winter Olympics. The shows will change, but the wit remains constant. As this article is updated, the show is God’s Good, Evil’s Bad.

Another cultural venue in Toronto at which to ponder the Canadian character is the Art Gallery of Ontario, which is a major museum rather than a gallery. Here you can see a permanent exhibit of the Group of Seven artists. Earlier in the century this group of painters forged a new consciousness of the Canadian landscape, depicted with vibrant colors and painterly technique that challenged the academic art of the era. Discovering in art Canada ‘s rugged wilderness was an important factor in the country’s maturation and psychological development of its own national identity.

Both Toronto and Montreal are relatively safe places to walk at night. Toronto is said to have one-sixth the homicides of Detroit. This is a land of few handguns.

In Toronto the language of choice is clear–it’s English. Some English-speaking people from Montreal moved to Toronto in the time of troubles because they were more comfortable as language pressure mounted in Montreal. However, Toronto also prides itself on accommodating foreign tongues, beyond the French that is an official language of the country. Toronto claims to deliver its city services in any of 12 languages. Immigrants speaking Chinese and Italian are major components of the Toronto mix. You can see this thriving ethnic world in the Marche restaurant, in the BCE complex. The restaurant amounts to lively fast-food stations highlighting a dozen cultures. The size of the Chinese-language community is especially notable. You could occupy a window table at Wong’s Chinese Buffet, 222 Spadina, after passing through the commercial building known as the Chinatown Centre. While sampling food from this sumptuous buffet, you could gaze onto Spadina and imagine that you were in Hong Kong .

In contrast with Toronto’s comfortable accommodation of French, Chinese, and other language groups, Montreal strived to require use of French. An acquaintance describes how, at one time, her home tax bill came in French and would be sent in English only if a special effort were made. The bus driver may be less inclined to offer you information if you ask in English rather than French. A movie theater owner in Montreal described to me how the Language Police, prompted by a citizen complaint, came to his theater to indicate that the English word “cash” was on his tickets. He had 60 days to remove “cash” or he would face a $350 fine. The same cinema operator explained the complex rules requiring French subtitles for any foreign film after it is shown for a 60-day period. Language rules in Montreal can get tighter or looser, as the winds change. An English-speaking traveler with a rental car will want to know enough French for safety and for reading road signs. Montreal sometimes requires that words of English or American origin be transposed to a French equivalent.

The character of a Torontonian is also different from that of a Montrealer. A characteristic Toronton activity would be the power breakfast, getting a jump-start on the day, while the Montrealer would be more skilled at practicing the art of cafe idling. A Torontonian might leave the theater, at midnight , and exhibit reserve and restraint at the crosswalk, waiting for the traffic light to turn green even if there were no cars present. A Montrealer, at midday, in heavy traffic, will tend to walk across the street in defiance of the light. Another Montrealer, in the next car, inches ahead to get a jump on the light. Toronto gets ribbed a little for its Victorian primness, its waspish reserve. One senses the suppressed rage of the decent behind the moniker Toronto the Good. Toronto has been called ” New York run by the Swiss.”

However, Toronto boasts many amenities that will insure its premier place as a travel destination. The city’s expertise in hostelries and dining is epitomized by the Four Seasons Hotel and its Truffles restaurant, both of which have attained five-diamond status. Truffles was redesigned to serve as a showcase of Canadian craftsmanship, from furniture designers to sculptors, muralists to ceramicists. The chef may infuse culinary creativity into the offerings, which might range from lobster sausage on a bed of warm greens to wild mushroom risotto, quail with baked endive to venison with tiny asparagus.

MONTREAL

Montreal exudes joie de vivre, the Gallic assertiveness that makes French culture so delicious. This city is a daughter of France, France without jet lag, Paris minus the rudeness, a city with a soul, a place with European atmosphere and American casualness. Montreal is the largest French-speaking city outside France. Most English-speaking travelers who arrive in Montreal come to celebrate the motto, Vive la difference.

An interesting place to start here is the Cirque du Soleil circus performance, available along the Montreal waterfront. The imaginative performance of the dancers and acrobats proclaims a zest for life. Cirque du Soleil is one of the most successful cultural exports of Montreal. Itinerant companies of Cirque may be seen occasionally in major U.S. cities. Resident Cirque companies in Las Vegas deliver experiences that pack in the crowds night after night, providing some of the least-derivative entertainments you will ever experience. Cirque shows in Las Vegas are far more than circus acts, and viewers tend to describe them as spiritualistic dance expressions of the joy of life.

Montreal is a pleasing city to walk. The downtown has its handsome enclosed spaces, as in Toronto. Montreal ‘s parallel to the Galleria is the World Trade Centre, with its huge atrium and sea goddess statue above a pool. Be sure to tramp over the heights of the city, on Mont Royal Park, to catch the views at the belvedere of the chalet. Then meander in Old Montreal, near the waterfront, with a stop for a glass of wine at the sidewalk cafes on Place Jacques Cartier. Meditate on the Catholic presence inside the Notre Dame Basilica. Peruse the neighborhoods, such as Chinatown and Plateau Mont-Royal, the latter a fashionable milieu for outdoor cafes. Explore the more than 20 miles of underground city. Savor the view of the city from Ile Sainte-Helene in the river (get there via subway to Parc Jean-Drapeau station, then walk out to see the panorama alongside the huge Alexander Calder sculpture). Public art is present in large amounts because one percent of each construction budget must be spent on art. Raymond Mason’s white “The Illuminated Crowd” sculpture in front of the Banque Nationale de Paris is an example.

Montreal is a much older city than Toronto. In 1992 Montreal celebrated its 350th anniversary. A clock on the St. Sulpice Seminary has been keeping the time since 1700.

One of the enjoyable places in Montreal at which to contemplate Canada is the McCord Museum of Canadian History, which has both permanent and changing exhibits. During one of my visits in the past, for example, the changing exhibit was a series of composite photos of Montreal in the 1870s, by William Notman. He portrayed the Snowshoe Club, for example, depicting the hundreds of men who would don snowshoes for social outings in that era. The McCord’s permanent exhibits on Canada’s Amerindians (a term destined for political correctness) is informative. A chamber music concert during my visit provided aural stimulation to parallel the visual pleasures of the afternoon.

Montreal is famous for its annual cycle of festivals. The summer begins with a bang during the international fireworks festival. Festivals follow celebrating jazz, comedy, and cinema.

Overall, Quebec Province is rich in natural resources, especially hydroelectric power. It is also the largest province in the extent of its land. The high rate of birth among the French Catholics has contributed to a large population, about 7.5 million, out of the total Canadian population of 32 million. The first priority of these large families was to feed their children, with extended formal education seen as a luxury.

The educational system among the French in Quebec has also changed markedly since about 1970. Formerly, a bright French Catholic boy, educated in the classics, might proceed, if not to the priesthood, to the professions of law, medicine, notary, or other intellectual pursuits. The world of business was seen as a tawdry place, better left to the English and Scots, who made fortunes and dominated the scene. All this has now changed, as the French Canadians compete in all fields.

QUEBEC CITY

The walled bluffs of Quebec City were–and still are–one of the strongest fortifications in the Americas, commanding the St. Lawrence River . Be sure to see the sound-and-light show in the Musee du Fort, where a diorama and narration depict the comings and goings of French, English, and American troops here in the first two hundred years of the city’s life. Then walk along the boardwalk Promenade by the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac and climb finally to the top of the Citadel, which is still manned by an elite Canadian garrison, whose soldiers have served under the U.N. From the Citadel, with its historic cannons, you can imagine how formidable a defended Quebec could be.

The business worth fighting for in those early days was furs. By the end of the 18th century, there were 2,600 fur traders shipping a half-million beaver and deer pelts annually from Quebec .

To get a profile of the fortifications, cross the river on the ferry from Place Royale to Levis and back. Then stroll the Lower Town, full of restaurants, shops, and special attractions. Rue Saint-Paul has numerous antique, art, and craft shops. You’ll find exquisite hand-knit wool sweaters. Galleries display prominent Quebec artists, with some of their finer paintings reproduced also as cards. A major museum, called the Musee de la Civilisation, has both permanent and changing exhibits. One of the interesting permanent exhibits shows the collective memory of Quebec, both as idealized and as repressed. The Upper Town, on top of the bluff, has walks as intriguing as the Lower Town. In Upper Town stop in at Boutique Sachem to see Canadian Indian crafts. Jazz fans gather nightly around a piano at the Clarendon. The most celebrative times here are a summer fest and a winter carnival.

To get a sense of the countryside, rent a car and drive out to Ile d’Orleans, the food basket and summer cottage getaway place for the city. Small farmers on Ile d’Orleans have firm opinions on the taste of their strawberries as compared with those of nearby Beaupre. At an island village, St. Jean, river pilots of the St. Lawrence have a cemetery running to the water. Red-metal roofed houses and numerous church spires dot the birch-wooded landscape. Fall color is alleged to be ravishing. Thirty-seven families here have ancestors going back to the 17th century.

The power of the Church is ever present in the region, and Quebec City is often called the “City of Many Steeples.” A few miles beyond Ile d’Orleans, in Beaupre, the massive Basilica Sainte-Anne is a major Fatima-like pilgrimage site, piled high with crutches left after miracle cures.

Quebec City is a more relaxed and restful place than Montreal, more provincial and quaint, safely remote, beyond the main stream. The people of this provincial capital are blessed with the stability of assured government employment. On the language issue, Quebec City is also more at ease because it can afford to be. In Quebec City about 96 percent of the people are French speakers, so the language issue is decided, as it is for English in Toronto. Moreover, the French were here first, before the English, so there is some cultural security in the primacy of French. There is less of the tension that is evident in Montreal. Tourism employees in Quebec City’s hotels, restaurants, and attractions may speak English in a manner more congenial than in Montreal. In Montreal, speaking English is a political statement, an uneasy concession to the outsider from the dominant culture. In Quebec City, speaking English is a transparent gesture to accommodate the foreign traveler, the lifeblood of the tourism economy.

The culinary legacy of France, so much in evidence in Montreal and in Quebec City, is one aspect of the cultural division about which there is unanimous appreciation. Start your culinary research in Montreal, where the many French restaurants are not necessarily expensive, especially when the U.S. dollar is strong. The Premiere Rue (at 355 St.-Paul West) served as my introduction to French Canadian cuisine. Both the rabbit and the salmon salad were delicious. Proceeding to Quebec City, Restaurant Louis Hebert on Grande Allee was an excellent choice, concentrating on the lobster bisque, followed by the lobster itself, from the waters of eastern Canada.

THE RAILROAD

The railroad offers an opportunity to see the Canadian landscape at a pleasing pace, without the stress of having to drive your car. Birch forests, corn or hay fields, and many swift rivers characterize the terrain. If the country ever actually separated, the question of who would own the huge investments in hydro power in Quebec Province and who would pay what portions of the billions national debt would be among the thorniest issues to be negotiated.

Service on the train is genial, especially in first class. Take the later afternoon trains between these major eastern cities. You glide along, lulled by the click of the rails, drinking your wine, lingering over the sunset, choosing from among three entrees for dinner. If Amtrak could emulate these rail standards, rail travel in the United States might have a brighter tourism future.

The great hotels built by the railroad are excellent bases from which to explore Canada. The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto and the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montreal are located immediately adjacent to the tracks, conveniently providing lodging in the downtown area, mercifully close to the trains during the cold season. The Fairmont Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City ranks as one of the most romantic hotels in North America, perched high on a bluff as a castle. It makes one think of Ludwig of Bavaria’s famous “Disneyland” castle, Neuschwanstein, transposed and modified to a North American setting. Also, all three cities have experienced a boom in new boutique hotels, and so the choice of accommodations has grown greatly.

A traveler coming to Canada from the United States views the country and the language struggle of its people with both affection and concern. The border between Canada and the United States is said to be the longest undefended border in the world, no small achievement. Canada is larger than all of Europe and larger than the United States, though the country has only 32 million people, compared to 293 million in the United States.

If the United States is a melting pot, Canada is a salad bowl. The ingredients in Canada will remain distinct, if not separate. Only the Canadians can decide whether the country will be served up to the traveler as one dish in the future.

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CANADA’S GREAT CITIES OF THE EAST: IF YOU GO

For Toronto information, contact the Toronto Convention and Visitors Association, P.O. Box 126 , 207 Queen’s Quay West, Toronto , Ontario M5J 1A7 , Canada; 800-499-2514; www.torontotourism.com.

For Montreal information, contact Tourisme Montreal, 1255 Peel St ., Montreal, Quebec H3A 3L8 Canada; 877-BONJOUR (266-5687); www.tourism-montreal.org.

For Quebec City information, contact Quebec City Tourism Bureau, 835 ave. Wilfrid-Laurier, Quebec, Quebec G1R 2L3, Canada; 418-649-2608, 800-363-7777; www.quebecregion.com.

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Copyright © 2012 Lee Foster, Foster Travel Publishing. All rights reserved.

This article was written by Lee Foster of Foster Travel Publishing. Contact Lee at .

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