Quote:
Originally Posted by someone123
I think Francophones in Canadian history (let's say prior to the modern era of the 1950's/60's) have had a bit more of a tendency to stay put or organically settle adjacent areas. Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean is an example of this. Historically this was a double-edged sword. It meant a larger population but also a poorer population.
English speakers in the Maritimes tended to move all over the place. Had this not happened it would have been a region of 3-4 million people by now.
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I even noticed this as a kid. My parents were from small Acadian towns in the Maritimes that weren't in rich areas, but they were noticeably more vibrant than many neighbouring anglo towns. That's because the anglo towns had emptied out first. Now the emptying out trend has finally hit the Acadian towns, and they're being hit hard. The feeling of decline stings less in the anglo towns because they already bottomed out long ago. No one there (in the anglo towns) has memories of streets and parks filled with kids and parades in the streets as recently as the early 90s...