[Escondudo]

Vermont seems to have a unique culture, and it has produced some of the most progressive Democratic presidential candidates in Howard Dean and Bernie Sanders. Is Montreal an x-factor in Vermont's culture?

[Sierrajeff]

If by Montreal you literally mean the city itself, I'd say somewhere between "very little" and "not at all". If by Montreal you mean P.Q., or the proximity to Canada generally - then I think it's reasonable to say that having a large neighbor with strong communitarian, socialist [in the mild sense] values probably has often provided an example to Vermonters of what could be, and of what is possible, compared to the individualistic and polarized free-for-all that has characterized a lot of modern American politics.

But I think the Vermont ethos is overwhelmingly home-grown, and goes back far beyond the integration of the U.S. and Canadian economies in the second part of the 20th century.

[GeoffD]

In Brattleboro or Bennington? Not at all. In St Albans or Newport? Absolutely. Jay Peak has poutine in the cafeteria.

If by Vermont, you mean Chittenden County, I agree with "very little" and "not at all". When I lived in Burlington, Montreal was good for the occasional concert, hockey game, or bar crawl. I knew they had good bagels and Montreal smoked meat (NYC Jewish deli food). CHOM was on one of the FM radio buttons in the car. That's about it and I'm French fluent.

[Escondudo]

So, is it common for people in Burlington to go to Montreal for day trips?

[tkln]

We're 30 minutes from Burlington and we go for day visits a few times a year.

[Sporin]

You will find a LOT of northern New Englanders with QC blood in their veins, me included. My grandparents on my father's side came to America when they were quite young and were settled in northeastern Mass. We called them Pépère and Mémère and they spoke french almost exclusively to each other. My family name, my family tree, and the names of the kids I grew up with in very northern NH reads like a list of Top 20 QC Surnames. List of most common surnames - Familypedia (scroll down to Quebec)

So the connection is strong, particularly to families that have been here for generations. But as for a modern connection? I agree with those show say "very little" to "not at all." Certainly some of that Québécois-culture has seeped down to the most northern spots, but it's not politically influential in any way I've ever seen. Vermonters liked cheese and gravy without any Canadian influence

I have relatives northeast of Quebec City so I've been up there a few times. We did the trip to Quebec and Montreal historical trips in school. My wife and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in a nice hotel in the Old City. One of my buddy's had his bachelor's party on St. Catherine's Street.

There are reasons to go but I don't know anyone who goes more frequently than every few years. The border crossing gets more and more strict every decade and now that the currency exchange rate is a little more on par there's not a lot of reason to go north for much of anything regularly.

Many of the truck stops have menu items in both languages, but that's more about catering to the 89/91 long-haul traffic than anything cultural.

[in_newengland]

This is an interesting topic and I hope there will be more comments to follow. My mother's family were early VT settlers and eventually ended up in the NEK. (Yep, I do genealogy, lol)

I wonder why Vermont is so different politically from New Hampshire? All I can think of that NH was mostly founded by Scots Irish, the same groups that populates much of the South. They are known for being good fighters (used to defend the English-Scotland border.) That don't want rules or anyone telling them what to do. Live Free or Die.

But Vermonters are known for being independent and self sufficient. So does it mostly just go back to who they were to begin with? As Sierrajeff said, it's just homegrown and goes way back? Tradition handed down.

[Sierrajeff]

Originally Posted by Escondudo

So, is it common for people in Burlington to go to Montreal for day trips?

If anything it seems like it's the other way around - for instance, Burlington has done a good job of trying to appeal to Quebecois tourists, such as by setting up a Francophone information booth on Church Street. And a lot of Canadians come down to Burlington (and Plattsburgh) to catch flights, because it's cheaper for them than flying out of Montreal.

And I have English-speaking friends who've owned a business for several years in Sutton, P.Q.; they say it's getting increasingly hard to do so, though (due to increasing Francophone pressure in P.Q.), and they're considering relocating the business to the Vermont side of the border.

[bler144]

Anecdotally, most of my friends from the northern half of the state lean towards being Habs fans over Bruins fans.

As for why VT/NH are different politically, the Scots theory is a good one. Early on it probably also has to do with the prevalence of 'old money' in NH, particularly NH politics, as well as NH's role as a "conservative suburb" of metro Boston.

There's also defense industry influence there both through Pease and Lockheed, etc. in a way I don't think VT has any equivalent.

It is a very interesting question.

[naadarien]

So wait, Escondudo (escondido?), are you trying to say VT is more progressive because of a Canadian influence?

If that was where you were going, the NEK is a repudiation of your theory. We are both the most conservative and most republican part of state, and almost anyone here more than a generation is related to a Quebecois.

I think VT's progressive nature (if that is what you could call it; plenty VTers would argue that point; they don't see themselves as progressive at all) is based in Yankee values not whatever socialistic Canadian rub-off may or may not have happened via relationships.

VTers are a practical lot. We are way more interested in what works, and if that uses less resources, cool. We are good. To me, that is a pretty even cross section of the center. Not particularly left or right.

But then people not from Massachusetts think MA is liberal, which just about the craziest thing I have ever heard. So no big surprise that people think VT is super liberal when it really is more centrist.