Q: I want to move there but i'm doing a research.
A: I have lived in the Montreal area all my life and I enjoy the area. But it is not for everyone. Quebec is a francophone province with a small English community that centers mainly around Montreal. Living here, learning French is almost mandatory if you want to be able to find a job or deal with the other people in the province. In present day Quebec, it has been reported that there has been an increase in immigration away from the province. A story by CBC News reported in October that over 41,000 people left Quebec while only 26,000 immigrated to the province in the last year, a net loss of 15,000 people. Some analysts say the reason for this is better job opportunities elsewhere, while others say it could be related to the government policies towards immigrants and what they call "reasonable accomodation". This is mainly affecting muslims and sikhs, who have had issues regarding certain customs like wearing the hijab and kirpan. That being said, I don't want to give the wrong impression...We are not a province of bigots and racists. Most immigrants who arrive here get along with each other and interact with others in their neighbourhood, whatever their nationality or ethnic background. The weather here can be quite cold, very snowy, and all around miserable in the winter. In the summer, for a period of two weeks, we get very hot, humid weather and sometimes it is not pleasant to be outside when the mosquitos and black flies decide to start biting. Now that I have given you a bad impression, here are a few good things: We have an excellent public transit system in Montreal. Safe and very clean. There are things to do and see in just about every part of the province, whether it is fishing and boating in the Gaspe peninsula, hiking and camping in the Saguenay, skiing in Quebec City (Mont Ste Anne) and the Laurentians, there are great dance clubs, bars, and entertainment in the downtown core of many of our larger cities, and the food is some of the best in the world. Although there has been some concern in the past over SARS in Toronto, West Nile virus from the mosquitos, and a few cases of mad cow disease out west, there are no other serious diseases in Canada at this time. There are no deadly venemous snakes or insects in Quebec. And of course, you can travel safely around town and from one province to another without having to worry about carjackings, bullets flying, or bombs going off.