Montreal has always fascinated me. My connection to the city comes from my father who was born and raised there before moving to New York City. His experiences and stories shaped my perception of Montreal, a city that blends European charm with North American vibrancy. While the festivals, food, and culture are amazing, my dad also experienced political and linguistic tensions.
I have visited Montreal many times throughout my life and have always been charmed by the beauty of the city. One of Montreal’s most striking features is its multiculturalism. Like NYC, it is a melting pot of cultures, languages, and traditions. Walking through the streets you hear French, English, Arabic, Italian, and Mandarin. Its not just the languages, but this diversity is also reflected in the Montreal food scene. From classic French bistros to Lebanese bakeries, Italian pizzerias, and the city's own culinary staples with the famous poutine and smoked meat sandwiches. One of my father's favorite places he takes me is Gibbys, known for its Montreal ribeye steak. I 100 percent recommend it as a must-visit for any steak lover out there!
The city’s architectural landscape further represents my love for the city and its unique identity. Old Montreal, with its cobblestone streets and historic buildings, feels like a slice of Europe in North America. The Old Port, lined with art galleries, boutique shops, cafes, and restaurants comes alive in the summer. People gather to drink, eat, and celebrate a reflection of the Quebecois philosophy of joie de vivre, or the joy of life. The warmer months also come with festivals, concerts, a beautiful walk through Mount Royal Park, and, of course, the famous Formula One Grand Prix, bringing life to Montreal.
Yet for all the beauty, Montreal also has some complexities. My father, despite speaking fluent French, always felt like an outsider due to the city and the province of Quebec’s exclusionary political climate. Quebec’s language laws and nationalist movements made life quite challenging for many English speakers, leading to the emigration of many companies and English speakers over time. As a result, Montreal is no longer the economic powerhouse it once was. Toronto has overtaken it as Canada’s economic capital and drew many English-speaking young professionals as a result.
My father was part of this emigration and chose to move to New York after college where he met my mom. He is happily settled in New York and views his early life in Montreal with fondness, but also some sadness that Montreal could not provide the opportunities or the political climate that would have kept him there had he wanted to stay. Like him, I have started to see Montreal as a city of contradictions. Montreal can be calming or invigorating depending on where you are and what you do. It is a city that shelters through the long harsh winters but bursts into life as soon as the snow melts. Sports culture thrives, with hockey and the Montreal Canadiens rising to the status of an inclusive universal religion, yet the French language laws seed division and exclusion. The city is old (Old Montreal) with low density and buildings hundreds of years old and new (with skyscrapers on Rene Levesque Boulevard).
My grandparents still live in Montreal and I love to visit them. They embody the happiness and resilience of Montrealers who lived there their whole lives and have learned to go with the flow as the city continues to transform itself. I like to visit them often and will never turn down a trip, although I feel disappointed that I can not fully immerse myself in the culture, as I do not speak French. Unfortunately, my dad never taught me French - perhaps because we lived in NY where English was the dominant language and Spanish was the more popular second language to learn. Despite not knowing the language I have continued to try to connect more deeply to my Montreal roots. I have dual Canadian citizenship which makes it easy to get through customs so that I can spend some extended time in my second favorite city (after NYC, my home). Montreal may not be my home, but it will always be a part of me, a city that connects my past to my present and continues to shape how I see the world.
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