How French is Montréal?

Bonjour from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is my first time here, I've been wanting to come here for years, and in this video I'm going to be going around with Deanna who is still in the hotel, she's sleeping, it's actually her birthday today. We're going to be going around and discovering how French is Montreal, don't go anywhere. The downtown area is actually really nice, a lot of skyscrapers but they're not too tall. Really modern looking buildings, good vibes overall Montreal, good vibes. Most of the languages I'm hearing around me are French, not English. Happiest birthday to my beautiful wife, 31 years old, how does it feel? Old, no I'm joking. You look great! 70th country for Deanna, 12th country for Dudoy, and all of our first time in Montreal. Look, Café Stabourg. I don't make the decisions on your birthday, you do. Yeah, right there in the sun. We're stopping at a little cafe brunch place for breakfast, and I'm hearing a mixture of French and English, but mostly French. As you can see they sit outside, appreciate the sunshine, like Europeans. Think about getting like a egg poutine for breakfast, oh my god. Poutine is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. And guess what? It's from here, only in Quebec. Sausage, potatoes, onions, cheese, egg, wow. What did you get? Oh my god, that's enough for six people. Dudoy, what do you think about all these French speaking people? You never heard French before, what do you think about it? There's two huge meals and coffees, it was 48 Canadian dollars, which is something like 40 US. It's so green here, that looks like Berlin. Welcome to the Basilica of Notre Dame, she's a beauty. Built in the 1820s, the Gothic Basilica of Notre Dame, meaning Our Lady in French, lies at the center of Old Town Montreal. Here, just like in Europe, the cobblestone streets open into lively plazas with fine restaurants and charming shops. But it didn't always look this way. Montreal was once inhabited by indigenous peoples for over 8,000 years. The Iroquoians of the St. Lawrence River and the Mohawk of upstate New York. French explorer Jacques Cartier was the first European to settle here in 1535, and soon after, Montreal, along with Quebec City, became fur trading hubs, and sadly, the natives were replaced. However, here in Quebec, there is still a vocal indigenous community. And now, Old Montreal is facing more changes, as gentrification creeps its way in and business and port activity shifts elsewhere. Bonjour! The tail's wagging. Cafes are all sitting outside, just like in France. Sitting outside on the boulevard, enjoying the day. Can we sit at that table? Yes, how many are you? Just two. Okay, let's go ahead. And the menu is on the table. Thank you. Just keep the duck on the other side. Okay, merci. So do most people here speak French or English or both? French English. If you work here in Montreal, you have to speak both. But like, the first language is French. Oh yeah, French. Dudoy is enjoying the chicken here and the vibes of Montreal. Time for some crepes. Banana Nutella crepe. It's so good. It's growing. Oh. Is it good? How you doing? Yeah. Are you from here? No, I've been here for like a year. Really? Yeah. Do you speak French? Enough. As much as one can learn in one year. I don't speak any, so I'm trying to figure out how French it is here. It's pretty French. And you're in the French part of town as well. This is the French part of town? Yeah, yeah, yeah. What does that mean? It's in two ways. It's Francophone and it's also for the people from France, specifically. Oh, like French people are here. Like both. Most people speak both languages. It's a bit of a, like it can be a source of tension. So as he tells me, we're in the French part of town, which I had no idea. Like French people, but also like French everything. My good friends at Yes Theory, they went to college here in Montreal at McGill University. And they told me about this place, this cafe. They told me to come here to check it out. Shout out Yes Theory. You guys are amazing. And let's go see what we can find. Do you have macaroons? Macaroons? No. What are those things? Those? Yeah. Can I get one macaroon and a croissant? Do you have croissant? No. Okay. Just one. It's okay. I'll have one macaroon and a cappuccino. Look at this guy. Oh my God. You know, I ate these as a kid. I never knew they were French. Oh my God. It's flaky, sticky in the middle, sugary, really sugary. And really good. Very French like. And it was really sweet. Let's try the cappuccino. Now this is made to perfection. Sometimes I have really bad cappuccinos, sometimes good. This is great. I gotta admit, it's so weird to be in Canada and hearing French. I've been to this country like nine times. It's the first time I'm in the French speaking region and the French culture. And it's mind blowing. It's different. It's crazy that this is a neighboring country to the U.S. And there's French speaking, native French speakers. It's just surreal to me like how French it is here. But the answer to the question is how French is Montreal? The answer is very French. In 1763, after the Seven Years War, France surrendered to Britain all of its territories in North America. Once a part of the British Empire, Quebec became isolated from the rest of the French speaking world. Today, people from Quebec hold on to their cultural identity, separate from that of Canada as a whole. And I admire their steadfastness. It is not uncommon to find immigrants in Montreal from other former French colonies. Like this man I met from Mali in West Africa who kindly gave me a ride. Good. You speak English? You speak French? For me, English is better. Where are you from? Mali. Bamako. How many years have you lived here in Montreal? 12 years. That's a long time. You like it? Gotta love the doors at Tim Hortons. They are hockey sticks. Which vegan? Everything. Yeah, Turkey Bacon Club. This is a challenge to order right now. I hope we just got the right order. I'm not sure. Very few English is being spoken here at Tim Hortons. Merci. Perhaps the most Canadian part about this whole day is Tim Hortons. We have Tim Bits here, which are amazing. And in case you don't know Tim Hortons, it's like the best kind of Starbucks, McDonald's, and coffee shop all in one. They have good food, they have good desserts, good coffee. Babe, you want a Tim Bit? Good? Is that enough? I don't know. Small glazed donut. I've never had a sandwich here. Very tasty. Something I've never fully understood is why is there Tim Hortons in Manila and in Asia but not really in the US. I think there's a few in the US. It's really popular here in Canada. So the final verdict is that Montreal is a beautiful place. And yes, it is quite French. So if you come here, prepare your French skills or just be excited to learn about a fascinating culture in Canada. I really enjoyed my time here. Can't wait to visit more of Canada soon. And I'll see you guys in the next video. Peace.