In Montreal's Quartier des Spectacles, the Place des Arts has been transformed into a giant playground as summer approached, with games for children and adults alike. Passersby were invited to join in giant word searches, picking out letters that made up words like "solitude," "joie" (joy), "avalanche" and, notably, "résistance."

The word "resistance" echoed across Canada ever since US President Donald Trump unilaterally announced his desire to make the country the "51^st state" of America, while simultaneously launching a trade war against his closest and most reliable ally. Canada shares nearly 9,000 kilometers of border with its neighbor, and its annual trade with the US totals one trillion Canadian dollars (€638 billion). But the word "resistance" rang particularly loudly in the ears of Québécois.

For one of the first times in their history, they stand united with the rest of Canada, a country they belong to but have never truly identified with, and from which they nearly broke away in two (failed) referendums, in 1980 and 1995. Not even the two world wars had produced such unity: Quebec refused Ottawa's call for conscription to support Allied forces, arguing at the time that it was out of the question to send reinforcements to the British monarchy. Today, King Charles III remains Canada's head of state (as is the case for all Commonwealth countries, such as Australia). But in this context, Québécois have become less timid.

'Buy Canadian'

On this sunny May day, expressions of support for the federal state – typically met with scorn – were flourishing. On Rue Sainte-Catherine, a souvenir shop displayed T-shirts and caps bearing the slogan "Canada is not for sale." At Fairmount, a renowned Montreal bagel shop, bagels were coated in a red paste with white sesame seeds, evoking Canada's national colors. Elsewhere, shop windows displayed signs proclaiming, "It's time to wake up, we're buying Canadian!"

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