The Quiet Exodus (I)

The roots of Québec's persistent demographic challenge (Part 1)

Photo by Julie Boulanger on Unsplash

For all the challenges Québec has faced in its history since the French first explored and settled in the St-Lawrence valley more than 400 years ago - adapting to a cold climate, negotiating with waring first nations, mastering a difficult landscape, claiming an enormous territory with a dispersed population during the New France era, being conquered by a rival empire in the 18th century, surviving to cultural assimilation policies, lagging behind in economic development, suffocating under a Catholic de facto clerical rule, etc. - there is one particular feature of the French Canadian experience in North America that seems to be constantly coming back to the forefront in all the centuries since then.

A lack of demographic dynamism, stability or retention.

In recent decades since the turn of the 21st century, the French Canadian majority in the province of Québec has been manifesting a renewed sense of angst regarding its long term survival as a distinct nation. Since Québec failed its last attempt at independence back in 1995, managing the immigration levels and the proportion of French speakers (especially as a mother tongue) has been an obsession of many in the local political and media class.

But what if Québec’s main challenge lied elsewhere ? What if Québec was still facing a centuries old demographic challenge ?

Exploring the history of this region of the world invariably leads the observer to see an overarching trend. One notices, over the span of centuries, a multitude of triggering or circumstantial causes in its history, such as strategic settling choices, political crossroads and distinctive socio-cultural customs, invariably leading Québec to this similar outcome of demographic challenges.

Demography it seems, represents the elephant in the room nobody wants to acknowledge, discuss or even address in my home province. But as so many historians reminded us, demography ultimately makes history, often regardless of other political and social forces.

Québec might be worried of its diminishing political power within Canada in the contemporary era (and in the near future) but the roots behind this trend span centuries in the past.

With that in mind, the following will be an overview of four centuries of history focusing on the underlying conditions responsible for what I coined The Quiet Exodus or the persistent trend of population movements leaving Québec; sometimes for economic opportunities, sometimes for cultural or linguistics reasons and in other instances, just to pursue additional individual freedom.

17th century: New France and the age of continental explorers

Ever since the fondation of New France and most notably the settling of Québec city by Samuel de Champlain back in 1608, the territory of what is now defined as the Canadian province of Québec struggled to maintain a vibrant and dynamic population base capable of rivaling neighboring states or jurisdictions in the long run.

The settling pattern and economic strategy, mostly focused around the fur trade for many decades, proved to be a comparative disadvantage for population growth versus British colonies.

From the hardships of colonization in a rugged climate, to the vast territory explored, to the multiple phases of migrations within North America, the small emerging nation had its share of difficulties population wise compared to its neighbors

The first century or so that followed the arrival of Champlain in Québec was characterized by multiple discovery voyages inside the continent, by following mainly the connected river and lake basins; from the St-Lawrence river, through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi valley (See map below for an overall view).

In contrast with most of the settlements in Atlantic British colonies, New France was sparsely populated from the start, with small villages, forts and commercial outposts spread out over the vast territory described earlier. In addition, since New France was not originally settled by families seeking religious freedom like some examples in the British colonies but disproportionately by young men who came from the old country to participate in the fur trade or evangelize the first nations, the conditions were less than optimal for population growth.

Needless to say, this demographic imbalance and settling patterns, combined with heavy losses of lives especially during the winter time, led to a sluggish population increase in the 17th century.

No wonder King Louis XIV eventually sent around 800 young women to New France (Filles du Roi) between 1663 and 1673 in the hopes it would lead to population growth with the establishment of new families in the colony. While this policy did eventually lead to some demographic improvements in the region, the simple fact that such a measure had to be taken by the king indicates the struggles facing the colony more than half a century after Champlain’s arrival and demonstrates the fragility of its population base at the time.

Besides the factors mentioned above, the socio-political philosophy of France and New France, as described by historian David Hackett Fischer below, also impacted the long term growth of its population.

“The habitants of Canada were not encouraged to think of themselves as free people. In New France, limits on liberty and freedom were imposed by the will and judgment of an absolute ruler who was accountable only to another absolute ruler in Paris.

If liberty means the right to speak and worship freely, and if freedom means the right to vote and to trial by one’s peers, there was little liberty or freedom in Québec. Its denial severely diminished the growth of New France. Had French authorities actively encouraged dissenters to settle in the new world, the history of North America might have been very different. The colonies of New France would have been more disorderly but also more dynamic, and much quicker to grow.”

David Hackett Fisher, historian

In such a context, no wonder many young men were tempted by the indigenous lifestyle that brought them freedoms otherwise difficult to obtain amongst the French elites and jesuits who perpetuated their customs in the first settlements. Once they set foot on this continent filled with opportunities, one can only envision how tempting it must have been for the coureurs des bois busting free from the shackles of the French rule.

Initially, they served their masters by exploring, mapping, learning first nation languages and contributing to mutual agreements with them, but with time and a newly acquired skill set to survive in the new world, many of them embrassed an alternative life on the continent which even lead to the emergence of a Métis nation further west.

The quiet and slow exodus was thus underway and the seeds of the young nation’s folkways were sown.

18th century: British conquest and the revenge of the cradles

Fast forward half way in the next century, and the estimated population in Canada (or today’s Québec) was of only approximately 60 000 compared to roughly 1.6 million in the American colonies as a whole. Some colonies, despite Québec’s fondation head start, had well over 100 000 inhabitants at the same period with a very dynamic trend. For example, the estimates for the same time period were 200 000 in Massachussests and 340 000 in Virgina, among others.¹

Even if the first decades of the 18th century witnessed increased agricultural activity based on a seigniory model, the establishment of more and more families and the occupation of a higher proportion of territory in the St-Lawrence valley, population increased slowly in French North America. Compared to the closest rivals in the North East for example, the population dynamism in Québec was no match as described by historian Bernard Bailyn.

“ For a century and a half the peopling of New England had been a gradual process, reflecting a high natural population growth without signification immigration. By the end of the 17th century the population has reached 90,000 to 100,000. For half a century thereafter new towns had been settled at an average rate of six a year; by 1760 the vacant central area had been filled and the population had reached an estimated 500,000.”

Bernard Bailyn, historian

Such a population boom was nowhere to be seen in the first 150 years of New France.

However, in the decades that followed France’s defeat at the hands of Britain in the Seven Years War (1759), French Canadians (or more fittingly for the era Les Canayens) then experienced a rural and communal lifestyle around the Catholic faith permitted under British rule. Without any legitimate political or economic power since Britain took over the faith of New France, French Canadians culturally survived in the long run and resisted the inevitable assimilation in such circumstances by having large families; what many would later call a passive resistance.

Since the French elites mostly left the territory following the war - which constitutes by the way yet another episode of departure - the options for the population left behind was fairly limited.

A boom in population growth, promoted by the Catholic clergy, ensued this turbulent period but proved to be unsustainable internally in the long term. While this revenge of the cradles unquestionably contributed to their survival, the socio-economic conditions in Québec entering the 19th century did not follow this increase in population which eventually led to a mass migration as we will later explore.

To be continued…

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Part 2 of this essay will be published next week.

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1. https://web.viu.ca/davies/H320/population.colonies.htm