Among larger cities in the United States and Canada, Quebec City stands out as a place where English-speaking residents are a decidedly small minority.
I recently traveled there to write about the Morrin Cultural Centre, an enclave for English speakers and their culture in a place where they make up just 2.3 percent of the population.
[Read: A Haven for English in the Most French of North American Cities]
In the world-famous tourist district of Quebec City, where you find the Morrin, no French is necessary to get by in shops and restaurants. But that, of course, is not the part of town where most Quebec City residents live. Those neighborhoods are very much a Francophone world.
Space meant that I couldn’t quote everyone in the article who graciously shared their thoughts about the Morrin Centre and life as an English speaker.
A few things stood out from our conversations. Everyone I met spoke about their love for their city. While they had some concerns about the province’s language laws, no one I met characterized themselves as a member of a victimized minority. And everyone, with one exception, had learned and embraced French.
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