Québec: Taking Climate Change Into Its Own Hands
(Photo by Mercedes Schulz )
by Brian Alcamo
Regardless of which language you speak, one thing is certain: the world is heating up. The climate crisis continues to shape the international conversation on all fronts, influencing discussions ranging from how long we should shower to how we should equitably allocate resources.
One region that continues to pull focus when discussing climate change is Québec. The francophone semi-autonomous Canadian province has a particular passion when it comes to tackling climate change. It comes as no surprise, considering that some of the region’s islands are falling into the ocean as we speak.
In terms of their opinions about climate change, Québecers have continually been some of the most staunch believers in its harmful and rapid effects. For starters, seventy-nine percent of Québecers (as opposed to the national average of nine percent) believe that their province has already felt the negative effects of climate change. Taken from a recent study by the University of Montréal, sixty percent of Québec residents believe that climate change will harm them personally. This is thirteen percentage points above the national average, illustrating the point that les québecois feel more in touch with climate change on an individual level.
Where does this personal sentiment towards a problem that we tend to see in the abstract stem from? Some theorize that it all started back during the Quiet Revolution, or la Revolution tranquil. The beginning of Quebec residents’ use of the term Quebecois, The Quiet Revolution was a period of wide-scale sociopolitical and cultural change in Quebec that involved the secularization of its government (away from the Catholic Church) along with the establishment of a welfare state. During this time, the region also nationalized their power system, HydroQuébec. Along with the Quiet Revolution and Québec’s ensuing history as a semi-autonomous region, HydroQuébec’s presence has engendered a sense of pride and self determination to create an eco-friendly power grid by and for Québecers.
Vocabulary for Your Fight Against Climate Change
Changement climatique - climate change
Rechauffement climatique - global warming
Neutre en carbone - carbon neutral
Durable - sustainable
Ecologique - environmentally friendly
HydroQuébec’s symbol of an energetically independent Québec continues to make francophone Canadians proud. However it’s not only in attitude, but also in action that Québec has shown its eco-minded spirit. Today, the region is home to the Montreal Climate Partnership (le Partenariat Climat Montreal), which builds upon a previous partnership from 2018 and 2019. A cooperation between the city of Montreal and the organization C40 Cities, the initiative attempts to center Montreal’s future around a transition towards a world-class ecological city. You can find their Twitter account here.
One of the partner organizations in the Montreal Climate Partnerships centered around community engagement is Mission 1000 Tonnes, whose goal is to improve the health of oceans and bodies of water around Quebec by organizing clean-up events focused on removing trash from these bodies of water. As their name suggests, the organization’s hope is to remove at least 1000 tons of waste from the world’s bodies of water. They would also like to inspire and educate individuals, corporations, and governments about concrete solutions to cleaning up our world’s water supply and preserving the aquatic habitats of myriad flora and fauna. The organization also collaborates with other committees to further their goal of improving the conditions of our global ecosystems. They’re holding multiple cleanup events this summer and fall, in what they’re calling their “Tournee Quebecoise.”
Québec is not only a fabulous place to practice your French, it’s also a guiding light on our journey towards an eco-friendly future.
Thumbnail photo by Delia Giandeini