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At last, here comes the old man down from the mountain, with the secret of happiness for Quebec anglos.

Actually, for us anglos, Quebec is, as Parti Québécois founder René Lévesque once conceded about Canada, “not the gulag,” referring to Soviet forced-labour camps.

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It’s safe and peaceful. Taxes are high, but in return we get public services like subsidized daycare, and the cost of living, for housing in particular, is low. Even the long, harsh winters make us appreciate the warm-weather festivals and terrasses even more.

But the best thing about Quebec is the people. I’ve learned a lot from the Québécois about enjoying life, and I’m not alone.

In the fascinating book Cracking the Quebec Code, the authors write that we Quebec anglos are “hybrids” between French-speaking Quebecers and English-Canadians in the rest of Canada.

In particular, more than anglos in the RoC, we prefer pleasure to responsibility, and report that we’re happy and laugh often.