Oka? Isle-aux-Grues? dies you will wonder no longer.
Oh, and there’s another thing ralph should realize, when asking about the “French-Canadian” experience: the old “French-Canadian race” doesn’t really exist anymore, or at least not in the way he may expect. Eighty years ago or so, he might have found that French-Canadians across Canada and the US (by talking about “French-Canadians” I’m somewhat excluding Acadians who are a distinct ethnic group) shared a similar culture and experience. But with the rise of modern Quebec nationalism in the 60s, most Quebecers don’t consider themselves as a “minority” anymore, and the ethnic part of “French-Canadian” identity has largely dropped. In other words, today you will find people of non-French-Canadian ethnic background who speak French perfectly (and even natively) and who identify with the Quebec nation.
At the same time, the francophone minorities in the other Canadian provinces (and in the US) have assimilated to the majority culture to differing levels, and while many of them still live their daily lives mostly in French, their culture is now very different from the one we would find in Quebec. I have a friend who’s a Franco-Ontarian, and while she’s a teacher in a French-language high school and clearly committed to the defense of the French language in Ontario, I find it quite clear that she isn’t part of the same “people” as me. For lack of a better phrase, in many ways she’s a francophone English Canadian. Most of the world in which she lives is in English, she’s not very aware of the French-language cultural production done in Canada, and even though she lives right there in Ottawa she clearly considers Quebec to be some sort of strange foreign land. She comes from a small mining town in Northern Ontario, though, so it’s possible that there’s a “small town” factor coming into play.
I’m making this point because today “French-Canadian” doesn’t really mean anything precise. Some will take it to mean being of French-Canadian ethnic ancestry and possibly keeping some traditions (such as being Catholic, eating tourtière on Christmas, etc.) even if you don’t know a word of French, while some could take it to mean living as a francophone in Quebec even if you don’t have a drop of French-Canadian ethnic ancestry. I believe some of the people who posted in this thread are “French-Canadian” mostly by virtue of being of this ancestry and feeling a connection with it, so their experience may not be the same as others’.
Heh, if that’s the case, it’d be odd since everyone knows New France doesn’t exist anymore (and if you ask me I don’t feel very nostalgic for that period). But we’re talking about Catholic schools, possibly half a century ago, which may be another world as far as I’m concerned. Still I’d be interested in reading the article, just to see all the nuances.
I have no idea how poutine ever became the standard bearer for French-Canadian cuisine, in such a way that it may be the only “French-Canadian” dish some people will be able to name, given that the modern version clearly originated in the 20[sup]th[/sup] century and clearly is fast food. Anyway, the Minister from beyond said it, and I will reiterate it: traditional French-Canadian cuisine is something else entirely (and it varies from region to region), and you may even find a high cuisine version of it if you look for it. Oh, and for the record, poutine is great, when eaten from time to time.
It’s incidental, but one of the somewhat unusual aspects of the Bruce Willis / Matthew Perry comedy The Whole Nine Yards is that in addition to being filmed in Montreal, it was also set in Montreal (as opposed to Mtl standing in for some American or generic city). Rosanna Arquette played Perry’s Montreal-born wife while local actress Carmen Ferland played her mother. While Ferland’s accent sounded perfectly normal, Arquette affected some truly awful pseudo-Parisian thing that just grated.
I just mention this for the heck of it.
Poutine is a very, very recent invention. It only became popular sometime in the late seventies. It’s also a bloody abomination.
This is a bit a continuation of what Hypnagogic Jerk is saying, but it’s true that there are many different kinds of people under the “French Canadian” umbrella. It’s also important to remember that this is an English-language board and the French Canadians who post here are likely more fluent in English than your average French-speaking Quebecois. As a matter of fact most of those I know (and that’s a lot) probably aren’t skilled enough in English to participate in a GD thread. This is going to skew the range of opinion that gets expressed here. Certainly, there are a lot of people in Quebec who identify more with Vancouver than Paris, but there are also many people who feel the other way – they’re just less likely to post here. (For the record, I’d place myself in the second group, not that Vancouver isn’t swell.)
You know of course that those are fighting words ? (pelts ralph124c with *oreille-de-crisse *).
You will hear from my second, sirrah !
I would suggest cipate at dawn.
You may eat when ready ! 
I’ve been to St. Pierre once or twice. It’s a very small island in the North Atlantic, and it’s French (part of France, not just Francophone). Its a nice place to spend a weekend, if you happen to be nearby.
You have to go through passport control when you enter, and you are very aware that you are now in France. Its more ‘French’ than a corresponding small town in Quebec, lacking the Canadian standards of Tim Hortons, Mary Browns and Canadian Tire. There is no widespread bilingualism. The wines are french, people smoke more (more than Quebec), there are lots of standard french things like strong coffee and croissants for breakfast- You feel like you’re in France, but a tiny, isolated, buttcold part of France - Kind of like if the French ruled Scotland.
Canada and particularly Newfoundland are the closest larger centres, so people from St. Pierre get a lot of their health care in St. John’s, and there is some crossover with people moving from St. Pierre and vice versa.
I will be there with bells on. You owe me for the tarte au erable. 