Quote:
Originally Posted by wave46
Tangential question re: that area of Northern Quebec.
Do the residents of Rouyn or Val d'Or ever feel slighted by the Province of Quebec in the same way that residents of Northern Ontario do sometimes?
It is quite isolated from the rest of the province - the only link between the north and south is Quebec Route 117 and it's a pretty remote drive. I'd imagine that Montreal and Quebec City would feel very far away, like how someone in Timmins might feel Toronto is very far away, both in distance and politically speaking.
Or is it just not a thing?
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Yes, people in Rouyn, Val-d'Or, La Sarre, etc. do feel that they are sometimes ignored by their provincial government and they feel isolated at times. But it's nothing like what we experience in Northern Ontario.
Quebec is all about its regions whereas in Ontario the North is just one big place on its own. A place like Rouyn-Noranda is visited by the QC Premier at least 2-3 times every year. But Timmins which has the same population as Rouyn might gets a visit by the ON Premier once every 5 years on average. Once example I remember is former Premier Dalton McGuinty was Premier from 2003 to 2013 (a decade) and NEVER visited Timmins as Premier!
The Quebec government is much more supportive of resourced based industries compared to Ontario. More money is given for arts, culture and recreation. And Rouyn has a university but Timmins doesn't. The Ontario government will often makes decisions that harm Northern Ontario for example in forestry but you won't see that happen in Quebec.
Southern Ontario often doesn't make us feel as part of the province. But in Quebec people in more isolated regions are treated much better by their government and political leaders.