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Quebec diaspora
Encyclopedia
The Quebec diaspora consists of Quebec
emigrants and their descendants dispersed over the North America
n continent and historically concentrated in the New England
region of the United States
, Ontario
, and the Canadian Prairies
. The mass emigration out of Quebec occurred in the period between 1840 and the Great Depression
of the 1930s.
in rural areas that could not sustain themselves under the seigneurial system
of land tenure
, but also because the expansion of this system was in effect blocked by the "Château Clique
" that ruled the Province of Quebec under the new British governors, who reserved new land developments for the English and the English system of colonization (see Eastern Townships
) and the "pull" of industrialization in New England
, approximately 900,000 residents of Quebec (French Canadian
for the great majority) left for the United States seeking work. About half of those are reported to have eventually returned to Canada. Often those who stayed organized themselves in communities sometimes known as Little Canadas. A great proportion of Americans with French ancestry
trace it through Quebec. Others, particularly in the South, were from Acadia
- the Cajun
s - and from France
directly.
Until 1849, the Catholic Church was not allowed to purchase any land, or establish any parishes in the Eastern Townships due to English Protestant laws and control At the initiative of Father Bernard O'Reilley, an Association des Townships was set up in 1848 to promote settlement in the area. In the 1850s, the association purchased lands which it gave to young families of farmers to prevent them from leaving for the United States where it was believed they would ultimately be assimilated.
Certain early American centers of textile
manufacturing and other industries attracted significant French-Canadian populations, like Lewiston
and other bordering counties in Maine
; Fall River
, Holyoke
and Lowell
in Massachusetts; Woonsocket
in Rhode Island
; Manchester
in New Hampshire
and the bordering counties in Vermont
. There was a significant number of French Canadians who moved to the Kankakee, IL area from the 1830s through the 1870s, including religious missionaries, establishing communities such as Bourbonnais, St. Anne, St. Georges, Papineau, and L'Erable . There are also sizeable populations of French-Canadian descent in Michigan
and Minnesota
— who began migrating there when the region was still part of New France
.
The Museum of Work and Culture
in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
, details New England's Quebec diaspora which developed in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Noteworthy among those whose parents settled in the United States are writer Jack Kerouac
, politician Mike Gravel
, singers Rudy Vallée
and Robert Goulet
, Emil Beaulieau
, historian Will Durant
and many more.
outside of Quebec trace their ancestry to Quebec (except in the Canadian Maritimes, which were settled by the Acadian
s).
The development of mining resources in the northeastern
and eastern
regions of Ontario at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century attracted a large workforce from Quebec. A great part of today's half-million Franco-Ontarian
s are the descendants of these Quebec emigrants. The francophone population of Ontario is today still concentrated mainly in the northeastern and eastern parts of Ontario, close to the border with Quebec, although smaller pockets of francophone settlement exist throughout the province.
s, Fransaskois
, Franco-Albertan
s or Franco-Columbian
s).
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
emigrants and their descendants dispersed over the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n continent and historically concentrated in the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
region of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and the Canadian Prairies
Canadian Prairies
The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are largely covered...
. The mass emigration out of Quebec occurred in the period between 1840 and the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
of the 1930s.
United States
Brought on by the "push" of overpopulationOverpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
in rural areas that could not sustain themselves under the seigneurial system
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
of land tenure
Land tenure
Land tenure is the name given, particularly in common law systems, to the legal regime in which land is owned by an individual, who is said to "hold" the land . The sovereign monarch, known as The Crown, held land in its own right. All private owners are either its tenants or sub-tenants...
, but also because the expansion of this system was in effect blocked by the "Château Clique
Château Clique
The Clique du Château or Château Clique was a group of wealthy families in Lower Canada in the early 19th century. They were the Lower Canadian equivalent of the Family Compact in Upper Canada...
" that ruled the Province of Quebec under the new British governors, who reserved new land developments for the English and the English system of colonization (see Eastern Townships
Eastern Townships
The Eastern Townships is a tourist region and a former administrative region in south-eastern Quebec, lying between the former seigneuries south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border. Its northern boundary roughly followed Logan's Line, the geologic boundary between the flat,...
) and the "pull" of industrialization in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, approximately 900,000 residents of Quebec (French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
for the great majority) left for the United States seeking work. About half of those are reported to have eventually returned to Canada. Often those who stayed organized themselves in communities sometimes known as Little Canadas. A great proportion of Americans with French ancestry
French American
French Americans or Franco-Americans are Americans of French or French Canadian descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of this descent, and about 1.6 million speak French at home.An additional 450,000 U.S...
trace it through Quebec. Others, particularly in the South, were from Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
- the Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
s - and from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
directly.
Until 1849, the Catholic Church was not allowed to purchase any land, or establish any parishes in the Eastern Townships due to English Protestant laws and control At the initiative of Father Bernard O'Reilley, an Association des Townships was set up in 1848 to promote settlement in the area. In the 1850s, the association purchased lands which it gave to young families of farmers to prevent them from leaving for the United States where it was believed they would ultimately be assimilated.
Certain early American centers of textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
manufacturing and other industries attracted significant French-Canadian populations, like Lewiston
Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston is a city in Androscoggin County in Maine, and the second-largest city in the state. The population was 41,592 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine...
and other bordering counties in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
; Fall River
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
, Holyoke
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range of mountains. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 39,880...
and Lowell
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
in Massachusetts; Woonsocket
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 41,186 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts border....
in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
; Manchester
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and the bordering counties in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. There was a significant number of French Canadians who moved to the Kankakee, IL area from the 1830s through the 1870s, including religious missionaries, establishing communities such as Bourbonnais, St. Anne, St. Georges, Papineau, and L'Erable . There are also sizeable populations of French-Canadian descent in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
— who began migrating there when the region was still part of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
.
The Museum of Work and Culture
Museum of Work and Culture
The Museum of Work and Culture is a museum in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, that features exhibits focusing on the city's textile manufacturing heritage...
in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 41,186 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts border....
, details New England's Quebec diaspora which developed in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Noteworthy among those whose parents settled in the United States are writer Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
, politician Mike Gravel
Mike Gravel
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election....
, singers Rudy Vallée
Rudy Vallée
Rudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
and Robert Goulet
Robert Goulet
Robert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...
, Emil Beaulieau
Emil Beaulieau
Emil Beaulieau, or more fully, “Emil Beaulieau: America’s Greatest Living Noise Artist” is the stage name of Ron Lessard, a prominent noise musician who primarily records for his own label: RRRecords. He has collaborated and performed with many well-known noise artists, including Merzbow, Pain...
, historian Will Durant
Will Durant
William James Durant was a prolific American writer, historian, and philosopher. He is best known for The Story of Civilization, 11 volumes written in collaboration with his wife Ariel Durant and published between 1935 and 1975...
and many more.
Ontario
The largest proportion of French-CanadiansFrench Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
outside of Quebec trace their ancestry to Quebec (except in the Canadian Maritimes, which were settled by the Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
s).
The development of mining resources in the northeastern
Northeastern Ontario
Northeastern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and east of Lakes Superior and Huron.Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiskaming, Nipissing and Manitoulin; and the single-tier municipality of Greater...
and eastern
Eastern Ontario
Eastern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies in a wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River...
regions of Ontario at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century attracted a large workforce from Quebec. A great part of today's half-million Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
s are the descendants of these Quebec emigrants. The francophone population of Ontario is today still concentrated mainly in the northeastern and eastern parts of Ontario, close to the border with Quebec, although smaller pockets of francophone settlement exist throughout the province.
Canadian West
While a good number of emigrants were from Quebec or Ontario, it is often Franco-Americans who formed the nucleus of the population in several francophone communities of Western Canada. These populations today self-identify with their province of residence (Franco-ManitobanFranco-Manitoban
Franco-Manitobans are a community of French Canadians and other French-speaking people living in Manitoba. Most Franco-Manitobans have roots in Quebec. However, many are of Métis and Belgian ancestry while others have ancestors that came directly from France, its former colonies and other...
s, Fransaskois
Fransaskois
Fransaskois are francophones or French Canadians living in the Prairie province of Saskatchewan. The term franco-saskatchewanian may also be used on occasion, although in practice it is rare due to its length and unwieldiness.-Population:...
, Franco-Albertan
Franco-Albertan
The Franco-Albertans are an extended community of French Canadians or French-speaking people living in Alberta. They are centred in the Bonnie Doon area of Edmonton, and there are tens of thousands of Franco-Albertans living in communities such as Legal north of Edmonton, Bonnyville, Plamondon, and...
s or Franco-Columbian
Franco-Columbian
Franco-Columbians or Franco-Colombiens are French Canadians or French speaking Canadians living in the Canadian province of British Columbia....
s).
See also
- DiasporaDiasporaA diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
- French CanadianFrench CanadianFrench Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
- French AmericanFrench AmericanFrench Americans or Franco-Americans are Americans of French or French Canadian descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of this descent, and about 1.6 million speak French at home.An additional 450,000 U.S...
- Canuck letterCanuck LetterThe Canuck letter was a forged letter to the editor of the Manchester Union Leader, published February 24, 1972, two weeks before the New Hampshire primary of the 1972 United States presidential election. It implied that Senator Edmund Muskie, a candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential...
- Little CanadaLittle CanadaLittle Canada is a name for any of the various communities where French Canadians congregated upon emigrating to the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries....