in depth

In DepthIn bilingual, multicultural Montréal, two societies live side by side. This coexistence, however, is defined by linguistic tensions sparking endless political battles.

Looking for gold for King François I, French explorer Jacques Cartier set out in 1534 to find a shortcut to Asia and came upon an island in the St. Lawrence River he called Mont Royal. In 1611 Samuel de Champlain arrived at the island and established a fur-trading post.

Following fighting with the Iroquois, in 1716 the French built a wall roughly following the boundaries of today's Old Montréal. Decades of prosperity behind the wall ended when the English sought a North American foothold. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ceded Canada to the British. Surprisingly, British governors accepted the culture and guaranteed use of the French language and Roman Catholicism. Nevertheless, local demographics radically changed.

The 1800s saw Montréal's city limits expand. The old city walls were demolished, and by the 1900s the Canadian Pacific Railway boom fueled a building frenzy. Fabulous mansions bloomed throughout the “Golden Square Mile”—bordered by boulevard René-Lévesque, rue Guy, avenue des Pins and rue University. The harbor became another architectural showpiece.

As Montréal basked in its Golden Age, wealthy residents moved away from the town center, inching up Mont-Royal. Ethnic neighborhoods sprang up as the population exploded with Irish, Chinese, Greek and Italian emigrants. Hungarian bakeries, Portuguese gift shops and a commercial mix along diverse “La Main” (boulevard St-Laurent) echo this influx.

With economic inequality increasing, the gap between the French and English widened. Canada's economic focus shifted from St. Lawrence River ports toward Toronto and the Great Lakes. The result: Following World War II, Québec was left an isolated province where the church dictated public policy. The “Quiet Revolution” reawakened the masses and unveiled the Montréal visitors see today.

Many believed a culturally French Québec shouldn't have to endure a federalist government that didn't protect its uniqueness. Talk turned to separatism, and the Québécois acted to effect religious, political and social reform. After Parti Québécois came into power in 1976, French was voted the official language. The fight for sovereignty continued, though voters twice turned it down.

Today the “two solitudes” described by Canadian novelist Hugh McLennan in 1945 have created two parallel communities within one modern city. While most residents are bilingual, the Francophone and Anglophone communities rarely interact. Each group knows it is a vulnerable minority—the French a minority within Canada, Anglophones a minority within Montréal. Although Montréal is bilingual in practice, it is a multicultural city with a throng of visible ethnic communities. Recent immigration has changed the city's face as newcomers from Asia, Africa and the Middle East make Montréal their home.

Loyalty to its Gallic roots gives Montréal its individuality and personality. But it's not merely sidewalk cafés and croissants that make the city très cosmopolitan. Montréal is a colorful canvas of grand boulevards and twisting alleys, Gothic cathedrals and vast beer halls, Bohemian artists and haute couture, and considerable joie de vivre, all of which you'll savor on your next trip to this captivating destination.