Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
I think that cities can also drop on some radars while at the same time ascend on others.
For example, if I go by the age group you are in (based on other posts) the Montreal prominence you are referring to pre-2008 is probably related to the rise of indie rock bands like Arcade Fire around that time.
I live in Quebec so Montreal will never fall off the radar for me, and I am aware of Arcade Fire and the scene due to proximity, but that alone wouldn't put another city further afield on my radar.
OTOH I am a sports fan and I know lots of people are as well, and I think Montreal losing the Expos resulted in the city losing a bit of prominence in the U.S. While at the same time Toronto got a boost as they not only kept the Blue Jays but also got the Raptors. Someone mentioned Hartford and the Whalers. That city basically ceased to exist in my mind when their NHL team left.
While the scene has not completely dried up, Montreal was also historically a much more important cultural city for English Canada and also for the Anglosphere in general, with people like Mordecai Richler, Leonard Cohen and William Shatner hailing from the city.
But at the same time, Montreal has been meteorically ascendant as a major city of the French-speaking world. While it was once a mere afterthought if even thought of all, it's now on the cusp (if not already there) of being the number 2 francophone city in the developed western world (after Paris of course) in terms of demographics and migration, education, business and culture.
As they say, you win some and you lose some.
|
That's fair. Isn't Montreal the 2nd largest metro (by a long shot) in the developed French speaking world? I mean not counting Kinshasa or something. 10-15 million people in the Paris area, 5 million in Montreal. I'm thinking by American standards, because I'm American.
So you would guess that Montreal would be 2nd in the French speaking world. What other competition does it have? My image of Lyon is that it's quite small. Marseille is both small and depressed. Geneva is not much bigger than Quebec City, although certainly very prominent internationally. Oh yeah, Brussels too.