Raptorsmania in Quebec shows how much Canada has changed

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In October, 1995, thousands of Canadians from outside Quebec descended on Montreal to express their love for la belle province. The federalist ‘Love-In’ that occurred just three days before Quebeckers voted on whether to leave Canada was controversial. The 11th-hour show of affection is still seen by many sovereigntists as a cynical political ploy by the No side.

This week, just steps from where that 1995 gathering took place, Quebeckers finally returned the affection (sort of) as thousands of Montrealers packed a downtown street to show their love for a sports team from Toronto. As Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante closed off part of Peel Street for outdoor screenings of the NBA Finals, there was no doubting the authenticity of the Raptorsmania gripping Quebec. Even in Quebec City, where basketball is relatively exotic, hundreds descended on a suburban parking lot to cheer on the Raptors against the Golden State Warriors. Nous le Nord, indeed.

For the young Quebeckers who have embraced the Raptors, it seems natural to cheer for the only Canadian team in the National Basketball Association. That would almost certainly not have been the case a quarter of a century ago, when a previous generation of Québécois was deeply conflicted about its province’s place within Canada. The idea of cheering for a Toronto sports franchise, even in the absence of one from Montreal, would have seemed unimaginable.

Of course, the question never really came up until recently. In 1995, the Montreal Canadiens were still coming off a 1993 Stanley Cup win while the Toronto Maple Leafs had not clinched the championship in almost 30 years. The Montreal Expos still outperformed the Toronto Blue Jays. The Raptors were just starting out, and neither city had a professional soccer franchise. Besides, back then, few Montrealers experienced much Toronto-envy as the Ontario capital’s reputation as a city where fun went to die remained firmly intact.

That has all changed in recent years, as Toronto regularly overshadows Montreal in popular-culture circles. The Toronto International Film Festival draws movie stars and the city’s music scene is one of North America’s hottest with Drake, The Weeknd and Shawn Mendes all serving as big Toronto-boosters. The old Toronto-Montreal rivalries – in hockey, business and the arts – aren’t what they used to be. So, it’s become harder to hate Toronto. In the eyes of many young Quebeckers, Toronto has even become (gulp) cool.

Basketball has a lot to do with that. The NBA is to pro sports what hip-hop is to music. It’s edgy and modern compared to the NHL (classic rock) or MLB (country rock). Montreal may not be quite as multicultural as Toronto – where more than 46 per cent of the population was born outside Canada, compared with 23 per cent in Montreal. But recent cohorts of immigrants to Montreal have helped tip the scales in basketball’s favour. The number of kids who sign up for le basket (as it is known in French) rather than hockey is surging.

A group of Montreal business types, led by investment banker and former senator Michael Fortier, is even assembling a bid to bring an NBA franchise to the city. While the Raptors have played a preseason game before a sellout crowd at Montreal’s Bell Centre for the past couple of years, the enthusiasm of Quebec fans in recent weeks can only help their cause.

Still, the Raptors are unlikely to face a new Canadian rival any time soon. The NBA is not considering expanding beyond its 30-team roster, and it’s not clear Montreal would be first on its list for a new franchise if it was. So, Raptorsmania may be in Quebec to stay, especially if the NBA allows regular-season games to be played in Montreal in coming years.

This may be excellent news for more than the people who run Quebec’s sports bars. In a few short weeks, the Raptors may have done more for Canadian unity than the countless billions federalist politicians have spent over the decades trying to buy Quebeckers’ love.

“Through the creation of myths and symbols of all kinds (starting with the national anthem), sports constitute a formidable instrument in constructing national identity by stimulating a sense of belonging among citizens of a particular state,” University of Quebec at Montreal political scientist Marc-André Houle wrote recently in Montreal daily Le Devoir. “This sense of belonging developed by young generations and other fans around Toronto sports teams could contribute, consciously or not, to a continuation of the construction of a national identity that began under Pierre Elliott Trudeau and, thus, could ensure Canadian unity.”

And you thought it was just a basketball game?

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