Québec's most recent referendum to secede from Canada was in 1995. The No vote barely won out at 50.58%.
The number of invalid/blank ballots could have easily changed the outcome.
Water is so plentiful that it is a free utility. There is also so much hydroelectric generation,
that power is inexpensive and the excess is exported to the northeastern United States.
Taxes are high, but services are high; this is especially true in Québec. Canada has world-class
universities, and subsidized tuition is
usually less than $10,000 USD. Healthcare is also fully government-funded.
A lot of jobs still require those that take a sick day to wait hours in an emergency room for a
doctor's note. Doctor's are already busy and don't want to be involved with policing employee attendance.
Winter is followed by mud season and then some summer. Construction projects are often rushed with
quick-dry concrete in order to get whole structures completed prior to the return of winter.
Much of Old Québec's housing is reserved for locals as a primary residence, forbidding short-term
tourist rentals. Purchasing property in dense areas requires first living in Canada for several years.
The Carnaval Night Parade
The Carnaval night parade was surprisingly good. It is basically an hour-long dance party. That movement is
necessary to keep warm.
Photo Gallery
Our hotel, just outside the Old Québec wall, across the street from a free ice rink.
It was 14°F with blowing snow, and everyone showed up for the walking tour.
Ice fishing for lake trout through about a foot and a half of ice.
The Morrin Centre has always been some combination of jail, church, college, medical office, museum, banquet hall, and library. The public hanging balcony has since been removed.
The Morrin Centre's English-speaking library and community center, in otherwise French-speaking Quebec. They maintain the original furniture for public use and have all sorts of cool artifacts.
Poutine and a traditional wild meat pie with bison, deer, elk, beef, and pork.
Snow removal often involves massive snow blowers, that feed into dump trucks, that deliver to off-site snow depots.
That's how trumpet players avoid frostbite during the winter.
These night parade dancers cycled through styles like New Orleans, Mexican, and Brazilian Rio Carnival.
Their real feet are below the ice blocks.
These performers were swinging back and forth like pole vaulters.
The Museum of Civilization had an expansive exhibit about the history of wrestling styles throughout the world.
The Château Frontenac hotel used to be neutral place for international military meetings. D-Day was planned there.
Maple taffy being rolled on ice as it cools from a boil.
This church was converted into a public library.
The annual Carnaval snow bath for the brave.
There are great bakeries and cafes throughout Québec. This is Le Croquembouche.
A very cozy and delicious traditional Québecois restaurant.
A charcuterie board at Le Lapin Sauté.
The Montmorency Falls are nearly frozen over.
Cross-country in the Plains of Abraham park. Though, the supposedly groomed trails were no match for that day's wind and snow.
Snow shoeing in the Plains of Abraham park. The park also has a refrigerated ice skating rink that is a quarter-mile long.
As Carnaval ends, everyone can leave their mark on the ice palace before it is torn down.
A Carnaval ice slide and ice sculpture park.
A life-size foosball table.
The top of the toboggan slide on the St. Laurence River boardwalk. The river, filled with chunks of slush, still flows.
Old Québec is lined with ice sculptures of people laying on warm beaches.
Outdoor dining is still possible. Each bubble contains a fully dressed dining table.
