Segacs's World I Know

If Saturday evening’s Canada Day festivities at the Old Port are any indication, then federalism in Quebec is in serious trouble.

Sure, it was raining, the Jazz Fest offered better music just a short walk away, and most people in Montreal were busier with moving vans than with parades. But the organizers of the Canada Day festival – excuse me, “Celafête” – have taken such pains in the past few years to erase anything Canada-related from the day, that what is left over is nothing but a hollow shell.

The music was an odd combination of Afro-Caribbean and gospel, the decorations lacked any sort of flags, maple leafs, or – apart from a few generic streamers – even a red and white colour scheme, and the fireworks display was accompanied mainly by Quebecois music. A few people had dressed in maple leafs for the occasion or brought along flags, but they were in the minority; I saw more Italy, France and Portugal flags on Saturday in Montreal than I did Canadian flags. Looking around in the crowd, an outside observer would be hard-pressed to find any clue that there was anything more than a Saturday night concert going on. I almost wish I’d stayed in London, where there was a big party in Trafalgar Square.

I missed the St-Jean Baptiste parties this year, but I’m sure that – as usual – there would have been a sea of blue and white, popular local music, Quebecois customs and celebrations, and a decisive air of Quebec national pride in the air. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, either. But the Canada Day organizers have downplayed the “Canada” in the Canada Day festivities so much, that they have lost the true meaning of the day. It you want to foster Canadian pride here in Quebec, it needs to be done openly, not by being ashamed. Make no mistake about it, there’s a colour war here in Quebec, and right now, the red and white is losing badly.

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