The French Connection: Maine and Canada (Brunswick, Hartland: legally, gardens, clubs)

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by Mad Kent

1 Quebec City is the only large city reasonably accessible to residents of northern and northwestern Maine, so there is a connection. Many of my friends and myself drive there several times each summer to attend the huge outdoor concerts they have every year, it's sorta like Woodstock lol.

What is the trip/highway/road like going from where you live to QC?


2 Yes there is, a majority of the residents of Aroostook County have French-Canadian roots and those living in border areas across French-speaking towns in New Brunswick and Quebec often still speak French on a daily basis, even the young generations. You will encounter this especially in places like Van Buren, Madawaska and Fort Kent. This is in sharp contrast with the large number of people bearing French-Canadian names living in southern New England, who do not speak French anymore.

Is New Brunswick very much like northern Maine?


3 Mainers who live on the border often have close relatives on the other side, so crossing the border is routine. This is especially true when you have towns facing each other over the lines, such as Madawaska vs Edmundston, NB

If you shop across the border, is it cheaper? Do you have to know French pretty much?

4 You need a passport card. Unfortunately unlike most border states and most Canadian provinces, Maine drivers licenses are not approved ID to enter Canada. But if you live in, say, New York then you do not need a passport. I find this quite frustrating considering that Maine's economy depends heavily on trade with Canada.

And why don't New Yorkers have to have a passport?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Mad Kent

Consider this: if you live in Quebec your drivers license allows you to enter Maine without a passport, but the opposite is not true. Makes little sense.

Not true.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

And why don't New Yorkers have to have a passport?

They do to cross the U.S.-Canada border. Anyone who crosses that border neeeds a passport*.

Crossing into the United States you are always asked for it regardless of nationality.

Crossing into Canada sometimes the Canadian border people will not ask Canadians for their passport.

But you can't really cross without it.

*Unless you have an enhanced driver's licence which has some passport-like information on it.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

What is the trip/highway/road like going from where you live to QC?
?

Question not addressed to me but here is my answer.

From Fort Kent to Quebec City is roughly 3.5 hours. The road is roughly 1/3 two-lane paved highway through woods and small towns, and 2/3 divided expressway.

From Madawaska to Quebec City is roughly the same distance except a greater share of it is expressway driving.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

Is New Brunswick very much like northern Maine?

It is somewhat similar but the main difference is that French is much more present in everyday life. McDonald's operates in French, store signs are in French, cops talk on the radio in French, etc.

Other parts of New Brunswick further south are more English but in the areas of NB opposite Madawaska, Fort Kent and Van Buren it is very much French-speaking country in almost all facets of life.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

If you shop across the border, is it cheaper? Do you have to know French pretty much?

Items that are cheaper in Canada would be few and far between. Except maybe for some medicines.

It is usually Canadians that shop in the States for deals.

There are quite a few people in NW NB that speak only French, but generally you can find service staff who can speak English there.

It is somewhat easier to find people who speak English in Edmundston, New Brunswick than it is when you cross over into the province of Quebec (not too far away).

Although once you get to Quebec City more people will speak English, especially in the tourist-oriented parts of the city since it gets a lot of visitors from around the world.

[Mad Kent]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

And why don't New Yorkers have to have a passport?

Because New York, like many other border states, has the enhanced drivers license aka EDL. It's a drivers license encoded with biometrics and other info about the carrier and is considered nearly impossible to forge. It is approved by the US and Canada as a legal substitute to a passport or passport card. Quebec and Ontario also have these ELD's but Maine doesn't offer it... yet. For those who do not have a drivers license those states that have the EDL also provide an enhanced identity card (EIC) that serves the same purpose. Maine doesn't have that either. So to sum it up again, Maine residents cannot cross the border without a passport but NY and Quebec residents can because their state/province has the EDL/EIC. One has to keep in mind that there is no visa requirement for residents of the US wishing to visit Canada and vice versa, the passport is only required because it is considered a relatively secure proof of ID. But it's not practical, that's why the EDL was introduced. EDL's are issued by states but the security features they contain are federally regulated. Same goes for Canada.

[Mad Kent]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Not true.

That's what I would have said myself had I not been made aware of the existence of EDL's 2 years ago when a friend from Quebec showed me her drivers license, which has a chip on it and states plain and simple that it can be legally used in lieu of a passport at US border crossings. Figuring it was highly unlikely that Quebec would be the only administration to offer this I looked it up and sure enough, it is widely available in other states. Apart from reasons of convenience there is an even more obvious reason for the introduction of these documents: cost. The percentage of US and Canadian citizens who travel overseas is quite small compared with the millions who cross the US/Canada border. If said millions were to suddenly apply for passports for the sole purpose of traveling to and fro Canada and vice versa the government agencies who issue passports would have been overwhelmed with the massive demand. That's why an alternative was relatively quickly devised, an alternative that has the added benefit, from the Federal point of view at least, of placing most of the financial burden on the shoulders of the states. But that burden is small compared to what it would have been if we had stuck to passports only.

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by Acajack

It is somewhat similar but the main difference is that French is much more present in everyday life. McDonald's operates in French, store signs are in French, cops talk on the radio in French, etc.

Other parts of New Brunswick further south are more English but in the areas of NB opposite Madawaska, Fort Kent and Van Buren it is very much French-speaking country in almost all facets of life.

What does New Brunswick look like? Mountains or hills or flat? Many miles between towns? Would you call it "scenic"? As interesting terrain-wise as Nova Scotia? Any unusual attractions? Do Mainers frequent NB?

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

What does New Brunswick look like? Mountains or hills or flat? Many miles between towns? Would you call it "scenic"? As interesting terrain-wise as Nova Scotia? Any unusual attractions? Do Mainers frequent NB?

back in the day, drinking age was 18 and you could also get into strip clubs...in canada (so, I was told)