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A recent Angus Reid survey, conducted just before a first ministers’ meeting took place this week, showcased once again the sometimes substantial gap between the political rhetoric surrounding Quebec and Quebecers’ daily lived reality. It’s often a fascinating study in contradictions. Since politicians can have a vested interest in spinning stories or selectively choosing facts to elicit a desired reaction in an attempt to conjure up more support for their platform, data like this can help us better assess the truth behind the slogans and the punditry.

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The province’s sovereigntist and nationalist movements often choose to portray — and often vilify — Canada as a country actively seeking to erase Quebec, but the survey indicates that most Quebecers’ perception of Canada and of the federal government doesn’t corroborate that negative image. In fact, it shows Quebecers to not only be the least aggrieved within the Canadian federation, but also least likely to believe Ottawa is hurting their province’s economy. And they’re the second-most likely, after Ontarians, to say Ottawa treats their province fairly.

This doesn’t mean Quebecers have suddenly been stricken with an acute case of maple-leaf-waving Canadianism, but the simmering dissatisfaction some insist exists may be a tad overplayed. Quebec is certainly unique within the federation, with a very strong cultural, linguistic and political identity of its own, but its attachment to Canada appears here to be pretty unexceptional, with a level of affection comparable to the ROC.

In fact, the survey found that Quebec has a “net alienation” score of minus-12 per cent (far better than Saskatchewan’s minus-55 per cent). Quite the score for a province we’re always told has one foot out the door. A majority of Quebecers apparently continue to believe they don’t need to choose between their allegiance to Quebec and their sense of belonging to Canada.

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Another Angus Reid survey back in February found that Quebec ranked among the provinces with the most Canadian pride. A healthy majority of Quebecers — 69 per cent — said they’re proud to live in Canada, compared to just 58 per cent of Alberta residents and 49 per cent of those in Saskatchewan.

Some point to disputes between Quebec and Ottawa as proof that Quebec is far too different from Canada as a whole. But a quick look at jurisdictional squabbling in the ROC shows very similar battles being waged across the country. While Premier François Legault is duking it out with Ottawa regarding the number of asylum seekers being accepted, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey recently announced a court challenge to push for a change in the equalization formula because he considers it unfair for his province.

Unsurprisingly, the new poll also found another major gap in perception: While 42 per cent of Canadians think Quebec “disproportionately” benefits from the federation, receiving more than it gives, only 26 per cent of Quebecers feel their province is respected. Could it be both sides are right?

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Many of these negative feelings are often shaped by what makes headlines and how we speak about one another. What level of awareness, for example, does the ROC have about francophones’ linguistic concerns and why additional immigration powers have long been granted to Quebec? More dispelling of persistent myths (often amplified on purpose) could go a long way toward smoothing out feelings of rejection or perceptions of favouritism.

There’s continued work to be done to build bridges in a federation that often borders on dysfunctional, but there’s also far more connection than some care to admit. In the 2021 census, when people in Quebec were asked “What’s your ethnic or cultural origin?”, the top answers were “Canadian,” “French” and “Québécois.” It’s not a contradiction to be all of those things. To paraphrase Walt Whitman: We are large, we contain multitudes.

Toula Drimonis is a Montreal journalist and the author of We, the Others: Allophones, Immigrants, and Belonging in Canada. She can be reached on X @toulastake

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