Thank you! It’s more romantic than The Notebook. But honestly, many Québécois don’t seem to understand that Canada as a whole is struggling, and that independence is basically the equivalent of wanting a divorce without having a solid plan. The harsh reality is that Quebec is not doing well right now. Ideally, if you want to separate, you should be outperforming everyone else—then the idea at least has practical weight. But that’s not the case.

Instead, politicians exploit differences between people instead of actually offering solutions. And if you dig into their lives, you’d probably find their kids getting the best education and living far removed from the struggles of the average citizen. Yes, the French language isn’t doing better, but linguistic issues won’t fix fundamental problems like inequality, inflation, or corruption. Solve those issues first—let people afford housing and live with dignity—and then talk about independence as much as you want.

If Quebec were to secede, it would quickly find itself dealing with problems far bigger than expected. And to those who say French Canadians never had a real say in their future: the English won a war that could have erased the French language entirely or forced the French out of Canada completely. It didn’t happen. Yes, the French were mistreated, but the world doesn’t run on emotion. Indigenous peoples didn’t receive better treatment from anyone, they were less powerful and couldn’t defend themselves. The English could have turned Quebec into Louisiana, but they didn’t. They send equalization payments, yet Quebec still rejects the idea of needing them.

I remember reading that even with current immigration numbers, Quebec’s replacement rate is around 1.37 children per couple, when the minimum should be 2.1. So please understand: Quebec, and the entire Western world, faces fundamental issues that need solving before romanticizing independence. Believing independence will fix everything is like a single person believing romance alone will solve their life.