Categories
Experiences History, Culture, and Politics Only in Canada Pictures

We Did That Hockey

We Enjoyed It But Have Some Questions

Hockey is to Canada what baseball and football are to the U.S. It’s a cultural touchstone and a massive revenue source for the sports industry.… [Read More]

Categories
Experiences History, Culture, and Politics Pictures Tourism

Historical Re-enactment

It’s been a busy end-of-Summer. We’ve had some visits from out of town, and work has been taking up a lot of time.

A few weeks ago, Manon and I managed to get away to the Pointe-à-Callière 18th Century Public Market event.… [Read More]

Categories
History, Culture, and Politics Only in Canada Places

Rock On, Canada


Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, photo By NASA – NASA Astrobiology Institute Library of Resources: Sulfur biogeochemistry of the Early Earth at the Wayback Machine, Public Domain, Link

Rocks found in Quebec are possibly the oldest on earth, formed around 4.16 billion years ago during the first days of Earth’s geologic formation (you know, back when the planet was all volcano-y and melty and stuff).… [Read More]

Categories
History, Culture, and Politics Only in Quebec Pictures Places Tourism

A Laurentian Jaunt, Part. 2

The Resort

The eponymous mountain is one of the tallest in the Laurentians, with an elevation of 932m (3,058 ft). The Algonquin name for the mountain is Manitonga Soutana, usually translated into English as the “Mountain of Spirits.”… [Read More]

Categories
History, Culture, and Politics Only in Quebec Pictures Places Tourism

A Laurentian Jaunt, Part 1.

Le P’tite Train du Nord

At the beginning of the month, we went off for a weekend to Mont Tremblant, a mountain resort about 85 miles/135km north-west of Montreal in the Laurentian mountains (a.k.a.… [Read More]

Categories
French History, Culture, and Politics Musings and Observations Only in Canada Only in Quebec

Plus Ça Change….

A lot has happened since last I wrote here. These are some of the stand-out stories of the past six months:

There’s a new Prime Minister of Canada, for one.… [Read More]

Categories
French History, Culture, and Politics Only in Quebec

You Will Insta in French, Little Cafe

In today’s follow-up to yesterday’s post about requiring French labels for specialty manufactured items, a little Quebec cafe near the border with Ontario has received a letter from the province’s French language authority saying the cafe’s Instagram posts must be in French–even though all their signage, menus, and Facebook posts are solely in French.… [Read More]

Categories
French History, Culture, and Politics Only in Quebec

Parlez-vous WTF?

As language regulations tighten, manufacturers may be saying “adieu” to Quebec

As the 2025 deadline for compliance with Bill 96 creeps closer, retailers and manufacturers are signaling their anxiety about the possible effects.… [Read More]

Categories
History, Culture, and Politics Musings and Observations

The Pretendians, Part 2

Link to Part 1 here.

Today (September 30th) is la Journée de la vérité et de la réconciliation, or the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. It honors the memory of thousands of Indigenous children who were taken from their families between 1867 and 1996 and sent to federally-run residential schools, where they were abused, neglected, and often died.… [Read More]

Categories
Experiences Food History, Culture, and Politics Only in Montréal Places Tourism

Your Montreal Tourist Bureau

Yup, that’s us (apparently)

It seems that when you live in a certain place, you become the default consultants for tourism in that place. People contact you, sometimes on behalf of people you don’t even know, wanting to hear about the best restaurants or most exciting local experiences or whether the weather is weathering, etc.… [Read More]