What Québec Wants™

Quebeckers more likely to be wary of genetically modified foods.

Fewer than two-in-five Canadians say it's safe to eat genetically modified foods, according to a new public opinion poll from the Angus Reid Institute.

Quebec residents are more likely to say GM foods are unsafe to eat (38%) than to say they are safe (26%). All other regions are more likely to say such foods are safe than to say they’re unsafe, including majorities in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Atlantic Canadians, meanwhile, are far and away the most uncertain. Nearly half (48%) of Atlantic residents say they are “not sure.

Nearly half of Quebecers (49%) say cross-bred plants and animals should be labeled – more than say this in any other province. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Saskatchewan residents are the group most likely to choose the “none of these” option, as seen in the graph that follows.

 

Quebeckers, genealogy and their DNA

Like so many aspects of Quebeckers’ attitudes and behaviours, their interest in genealogy is ambiguous.

Ronald Bishop wrote in the Journal of Popular Culture that “the pursuit of family history and origins tends to be shaped by several motives: the desire to carve out a place for one's family in the larger historical picture, a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations, and a sense of self-satisfaction in accurate storytelling.” As a minority that has had to protect its culture and language and a society where national identity issues fuel never-ending debates, one would expect Quebeckers to be keenly involved with genealogy.

At first glance, this doesn’t appear to be the case. According to Vividata 2016 Q2 data, Québec is the province with the lowest percentage of its population actively involved with genealogy.

It’s important to note that this data is about genealogy as an activity, a pastime. Just like bird watching and stamp collecting which incidentally have the lowest participation rate in Québec.

While the data is a decade old, a survey fielded by Ipsos in 2006 for Ancestry.ca revealed that Quebeckers were essentially as interested in genealogy as Canadians in the RoC. We can assume that while the levels of interest may have changed over the last ten years, the slight regional variations likely remain the same.

Quebeckers are as interested in their family history as Canadians in the RoC but proportionally fewer take an active role in the pursuit of their family history.

It may well be that for many in Québec, their family name’s ancestry has already been well documented and it’s all they really want to know. Québec’s smaller size likely means that a significantly higher percentage of its population share the most popular family name.

The general history of the ancestors who first arrived in New France is well documented, readily accessible and, in some case, well publicized. The popular series “Le Québec - une histoire de famille” with its extensive library of family profiles and videos,  its “family of the week” (e.g. The Bouchard Family) and weekly profiles in Le Journal de Montréal (below) may also have contributed to creating an impression that most family histories are readily accessible to those who only wish to know about the ancestor who was first to set foot in New France.

While many may feel they already know enough (i.e. “I don't have our family tree but I know that my ancestors arrived in 1789 and settled on l’Ile d’Orléans”), there seems to be a larger issue or barrier to overcome in Québec; a significantly higher proportion of Quebeckers than Canadians living in the RoC (almost one in two) don't think family history matters.

There is no shortage of options for anyone interested in getting or researching a family tree in Québec. This article published in Les Affaires in 2013 lists the many resources available and their cost. However, Quebeckers might be more interested in new innovative ancestry-related products such as AncestryDNA.

Pure laine, diversity and openness to the world

Questions of identity and national pride have been debated in Québec ever since Lord Durham wrote in his report that French Canadians were a people "without history and without literature” who should be assimilated.

Protecting this identity has been and continues to be a priority for all Quebeckers - whether they are federalists or in favour of separation.

At the core of this identity is the notion of “pure laine”. The term pure laine, literally meaning pure wool (and often translated as dyed-in-the-wool), refers to those whose ancestry is exclusively French-Canadian. (It probably relates to the raising of sheep for wool, which was common in rural Quebec of the 1700s.) Terms with a similar meaning include de souche (of the base of the tree, or root) and old stock as in "Old Stock Canadians”.

This label is well understood by Quebeckers and a source of pride for many. It’s also one that advertisers have sought to capitalize on. Beer brand Labatt Bleue stands as a symbol of this pure laine identity and the pride that comes with it. Its theme “Fiers d’être bleue” (Proud to be blue) taps into this strong sense of belonging to a tribe of pure laine Quebeckers.

What Labatt Bleue does with Québec pride is essentially the same as what Molson Canadians did with “The Rant”. It tapped into a strong sense of national identity, a pride in our common heritage and our roots to sell beer.

This sense of belonging to a nation remains strong today despite shifts in Quebec society. And politicians have and continue to walk a fine line on this issue. [In 2006, the House of Commons passed a motion that states: "That this House recognize that the Quebecois form a nation within a united Canada.” Prime minister Stephen Harper said he is using the word nation in a "cultural-sociological" rather than in a legal sense. "I think tonight was an historic night," Harper said after the vote. "Canadians across the country said 'yes' to Quebec, 'yes' to Quebecers, and Quebecers said 'yes' to Canada.]

Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies offers this important observation:

Quebeckers act like a minority and majority nation at the same time. They can tend to turn inward and display a certain insularity, but they also want others to integrate into their culture. It’s important for Quebeckers to transmit their culture and tradition to their descendants, but at the same time they believe that immigrants should abandon their own traditions and become like other Quebeckers. For some Quebeckers, this is a matter of survival. It isn’t always easy to grasp the complex and changing personality of Francophone Quebeckers.

This is a sensitive area. However, it’s one that can offer a powerful platform for a brand if done with care, relevance and authenticity. Just as The Rant had an impact that went far beyond beer sales, there is an opportunity to tap into national identity to fuel a conversation.

There is an opportunity to recognize the identity debate and the notion of “pure laine” while tapping into a fundamental shift in Québec society, one that is increasingly being embraced by a younger generation of Quebeckers that is more tolerant and more open to the world.

Quebeckers are a fairly insular people. They keep things close to home.

However, this is changing. There’s a new generation of Quebeckers who are far more open to the world outside Québec.

There also appears to be a greater acceptance of the “others”.

And a realization that immigration and language policies have created a whole new type of Québecois (known as the children of Bill 101): Quebeckers of various ethic backgrounds who speak French, and often several other languages, and who are as Québécois as the “pure laine”. Stand-up comic Sugar Sammy embodies this perfectly.

This present an opportunity for brands to prompt Quebeckers to rethink conventional labels about “visible minorities”, the “ethnics”, the “first” nations. Some may not be as “pure laine” as they thought. They could learn something unexpected about themselves. And when they do, they will understand that the differences make Quebeckers today make them who they are as a people.