The Jean Talon Marche in Montreal seemed less crowded than in years gone by over the July 4 weekend.
The headlines in the French language press one morning were screaming about the sad state of tourism affairs in Quebec this year. Tourism remained well below historical levels, raising questions about the health of the local economy. But local business people tell another story. They acknowledge that tourism from the U.S. is down. But the Quebecois always seem to fight back and see things in a more positive light. They argue that this region was the last in Canada to go into a recession and was the first to come out. No housing bubble. And not a lot of leverage. One business owner who owned a clothing shop in the town of Knowlton in fact just two months ago opened up another shop about 20 miles away in the town of Magog. You don’t do that unless you have confidence in the economy.
