Why are the largest anti-war demonstrations in North America consistentlyfound in Montreal — only the fifteenth largest, and one of the coldest,cities on the continent? Why do three out of four Quebecers oppose the American-led war on Iraq compared to six out of ten Canadians from outside Quebec? Why did hundreds of hockey fans boo the American national anthem at a Montreal Canadians hockey game?

There are vibrant anti-war movements in other parts of Canada and even inthe belly of the U.S. imperialist beast itself, but nowhere on this sideof the Atlantic has opposition to the war reached such overwhelmingproportions. According to widely reported conservative estimates, onFebruary 15 there were more than 100,000 in the streets of Montreal. OnMarch 15 and 22, there were more than 200,000.

Demonstrations in smaller urban centres like Quebec City, Trois Rivièresand Rimouski have often been larger than mobilizations in major citiesoutside the province. For instance, March 15 saw 15,000 protesters on the streets of Quebec City according to Le Soleil,while the CBC reported 400 protesters in Halifax and the Toronto Star reported four to five thousand in Canada’s largest city.

Quebec is in the midst of a provincial election and will be heading to thepolls April 14. None of the three front-running leaders — Bernard Landry,Jean Charest and Mario Dumont — have voiced any support for the war. Only Dumont, of the rightwing Action Démocratique (ADQ), has explicitly refrained from criticizing George W. Bush and publicly condemned widespread “anti-Americanism.” The ADQ, which passed the fifty per cent mark in voter preference surveys last autumn, is currently experiencing a freefall in public opinion (at about twenty per cent and dropping).

High-profile members of the governing Parti Québécois (PQ), such as LouiseBeaudoin and André Boisclair, have been participating in anti-war ralliesand making public statements against the war. While the more explicitlyanti-war and leftwing Union des Forces Progressistes (UFP)sees this as cynical PQ political posturing to garner more votes from ananti-war electorate, the PQ strategy seems to be paying off in higheropinion survey ratings. Perhaps the peace movement could even rekindle thesovereigntist cause. After all, if Quebec had a seat at the UN, itsrepresentative would almost certainly offer more pointed criticism of theU.S. position than can be found in Ottawa’s “Canadian compromise.”

If the link between the peace movement and the Quebec nationalist movementis somewhat tenuous, the anti-war feeling here seems nevertheless to be an integralpart of a distinctly québécois national identity. There are generally alot of flags at the typical québécois anti-war action — Palestinian flags,Iraqi flags, the hammer and sickle, black and red anarchist flags, upside-down or defaced or burning American flags, French flags and a lonely maple leaf or two. But outnumbering all the others are the blue and white fleure de lys.

What is driving the Quebec anti-war consensus?

A number of theories have been offered to explain Quebec’s propensity forpeace: Quebecers’ ability to listen to the French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin’s speeches without that annoying simultaneoustranslation, or their inability to understand the rantings of CanadianAlliance MPs in Ottawa (with or without translation). But Raymond Legault,one of the organizers of the uber-coalition Ã0/00chec à la guerre, says that suchall-encompassing theories are largely speculative.

Still, he does offer a few speculations of his own. “Quebec has a longhistory of opposition to war going back to the fight against conscriptionin the first and second world wars,” explains Legault. The relativeautonomy of the québécois francophone media vis-à-vis the U.S. propagandamachine might also be a factor. “Studies need to be done about how muchAmerican television Quebecers watch,” he suggests.

Just as Iraqi cities have to be “softened-up” by aerial bombardments beforea ground assault can take place, perhaps citizens need to be bombardedwith precision-guided American propaganda before they accept the idea thatwar is necessary and inevitable. With such solid opposition from France,Belgium and Quebec, maybe the most dangerous new high-tech American weaponwould be CNN en français.