Greater Sudbury, ON vs Moncton, NB (transfer, universities, living in)

[Tejas1976]

Both Sudbury and Moncton are said to be mid-sized bilingual cities outside of Québec. Which one of these cities is better from a *Cultural* standpoint based on the following requirement:

Native English speaker, speaks fluent French with the international accent gained from a decade living in Paris, also with extensive positive experience of living in Montréal, but really tired of Québec provincial politics, and not really interested in the Ottawa Region...

Which one would be the best from a cultural standpoint for an individual who wants to have a full bilingual life - Sudbury or Moncton?

I get there are smaller towns, like Cornwall or Hearst which would do the trick - which are outside of La Belle Province, but I am interested in mid-sized cities.

Any thoughts?

[Acajack]

I am very familiar with Franco-Ontarian and Acadian culture as well as the cities of Sudbury and Moncton.


Overall I'd say it's pretty close between the two, but I'd pick Moncton.


One of the main reasons is because Acadian culture is more mature and self-assured than Franco-Ontarian culture.


Franco-Ontarians are undergoing a bit of an awakening right now but IMO they're still a bit unclear where they're going with that. In many ways it still feels like a Québécois diaspora that is in semi-denial. Note that Franco-Ontarians for the most part are descended from Québécois, whereas Acadians generally are not.


Strangely enough, as a result of this natural distance from the Québécois, Acadians are more able to take advantage of Québécois culture without feeling the culture cringe you often feel from Franco-Ontarians. Québécois culture to some degree also serves as a vector for the culture of France and of the international Francophonie in general, something which I find is more present among Acadians than Franco-Ontarians (especially Franco-Ontarians in the north where Sudbury is located).


To put it simply you're way more likely to find Acadians who know Louis de Funès, Stromae or Charles Aznavour...

[Acajack]

Linguistically there is quite a bit of anglicization of the francophones in both cities.


While in Moncton there is a local patois called "Chiac" (j'aime ta skirt mais j'aime pas le way qu'a hang) that might lead one to think it's worse there, Sudbury has a more lock-stock-and-barrel transfer of francophones who become Anglo-Canadians seamlessly and indistinguishable from someone named John Smith.


Generally speaking even the Chiac Acadians remain Acadian culturally and identity-wise.

[Acajack]

Moncton also benefits from being THE Acadian city so lots of in-migrants who come from very francophone areas like northern NB end up in Moncton. This reinforces the language and culture in the city and helps offset the erosion that you get from being in a majority anglophone milieu.


Sudbury does get some migrants from other parts of Ontario but it's not THE Franco-Ontarian city. That role is played by Ottawa so most of the élite Franco-Ontarians are there. Whereas the élite Acadians who remain in NB are in the Moncton area.


Also the hinterland of Sudbury even though it has lots of francophones is much more anglicized than Moncton's. There are parts of NB especially in the north that are close to 100% francophone and the people there are quite purely francophone culturally. You don't really have this in Ontario anywhere to the same degree.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Tejas1976

Hearst

Hearst only has 5 or 6 thousand people and is pretty isolated. It's however one of the most purely francophone places in Ontario.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Tejas1976

Cornwall

I have nothing against Cornwall but would not go there for a francophone or even bilingual lifestyle.


Even TBQH Sudbury and Moncton are "borderline" by my standards, but I set the bar quite high when it comes to these things.


(All of these things are assuming that someone cares about francophone culture. Some people don't and that's fine.)

[Acajack]

One final (for now) point about Moncton and Sudbury is the role played by the city's universities in the francophone community.


Moncton has a French only university, the Université de Moncton. It's a big driver of the French language and Acadian culture. It's also the only university in town even though it's a majority anglo city. Mount Allison University is 30-45 minutes outside Moncton in Sackville.


The U de M brings to Moncton a bit of an international Francophonie cachet with European, African and Québécois professors and students.


Sudbury has the bilingual Laurentian University. I wouldn't say that the French side is discriminated against but it does play second fiddle to the English side most of the time. As such there is less of a pro-French oomph infused into the city by the university.


Some of what I mentioned (Euro-Afro-Québéco presence) is there in Sudbury too, but it's less pronounced and enriching than it is in Moncton.

[Tejas1976]

Originally Posted by Acajack

One final (for now) point about Moncton and Sudbury is the role played by the city's universities in the francophone community.


Moncton has a French only university, the Université de Moncton. It's a big driver of the French language and Acadian culture. It's also the only university in town even though it's a majority anglo city. Mount Allison University is 30-45 minutes outside Moncton in Sackville.


The U de M brings to Moncton a bit of an international Francophonie cachet with European, African and Québécois professors and students.


Sudbury has the bilingual Laurentian University. I wouldn't say that the French side is discriminated against but it does play second fiddle to the English side most of the time. As such there is less of a pro-French oomph infused into the city by the university.


Some of what I mentioned (Euro-Afro-Québéco presence) is there in Sudbury too, but it's less pronounced and enriching than it is in Moncton.

Acajack, your responses so far are excellent. Thank you very much for being so thoughtful and informative.