I mentioned before that I’m Italian…but only HALF Italian. My other half is French Canadian! Technically Franco-Canadian, since I am ethnically French Canadian (my ancestors were French colonizers…not great, but it is what it is). My mom’s family is from West Nipissing in Northern (ish) Ontario, which is a pretty rural, mostly-French-speaking community. I’ve visited it almost every year of my life so far, so I’d say I’m pretty close with my extended family on my mom’s side. And trust me, I have a lot of relatives–tons of great aunts and uncles, cousins, cousins, and more cousins. My great grandparents had eight kids, so the family is pretty huge. They all speak French as well, but they speak a specific dialect. I’m not really sure how I’d classify it, but it sounds the most similar to Québecois French, but not quite that….Québecois. The French that I speak is a lot more…metropolitan, just because I learned most of it in Ottawa going to French school growing up.
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French Canadian, or francophone, culture is very strong, and has a lot of pride surrounding it. French Canadians are often very proud of their language, and do their best to preserve it. That’s why the English language is basically contraband in Quebec–they wanna preserve their French! Interestingly, francophone culture isn’t too similar to French culture in France, where it derives its roots from. French Canadian cuisine does feature a couple of distinct dishes: “Pâté Chinois”, which translates to “Chinese Pie”, is a traditional French Canadian dish that is basically the same thing as shepherd’s pie. It’s also often eaten with KETCHUP, which is a common theme in French Canadian cuisine. The dish’s origin is kind of a mystery, with many hypotheses in existence. Another classic dish is tourtière, which is just a meat pie, ALSO typically eaten with tons of ketchup. Poutine is, of course, a big one that most Canadians are aware of. And of course, maple syrup. My family actually makes their own maple syrup from local maple trees…it is quite delicious.
Keeping with that DIY theme, my mom’s family also hunts a lot of their own meat, and builds a lot of their own furniture. They’re very resourceful! I don’t know how much of a role that plays in French Canadian culture as a whole, but it is definitely a pillar of my experience. That, and being really close with family.
There’s a lot that I’m probably skipping over, but this is a general overview of some of the aspects of French Canadian culture! I hope you learned something new!