[bobjam]

There are many possibilities if Quebec became less of a part of Canada than it is now. With the French contingent gone, the rest of country might finally be able to come together on a common identity rather than constantly being torn between British and French influences.

[Wallace T.]

Except for Toronto and Vancouver, I don't believe English Canada is particularly multicultural. There are French speaking areas in New Brunswick and Ontario, and Indians in the north. However, the predominant population of English Canada is from the British Isles, with large, though assimilated and English speaking, contingents of Canadians of Dutch, German, Ukrainian, and other non-French European descent. The non-British descended Anglophone Canadians are most heavily represented in the Prairie Provinces. The common British heritage, whether by ancestry or assimilation, should enable the remaining nine provinces to maintain national unity. In fact, Canada minus Quebec should revive the old British Red Ensign that served as a national flag until the 1960s.

The loss of Quebec would physically isolate the Maritime Provinces from Ontario and the Western provinces. However, there is a proposal to build an Interstate highway from eastern Maine to the St. Lawrence River in northern New York. The Maine portion of the proposed highway is called the East West Highway; in New York, it has been named the Rooftop Highway. Such a transportation corridor (with railroad and pipelines) would provide for a shorter route from the Maritimes and the rest of Canada than the more circuitous route through the St. Lawrence Valley.

Rather than merging Alberta and other provinces with the United States, a better solution would be for Quebec and English Canada to separate. Then our northern neighbor could live up to the name, "The True North, Strong and Free."