As far as I can remember, the English teacher didn’t like me. And yet, more than thirty years later, I think of her with great tenderness.

Educators tend to plant seeds they don’t see growing. While recruiting teachers is difficult in this new school year, I would like to tip my hat to him a little late. Madame Guertin, you gave me literature by having a book by John Steinbeck read to us. At the time I bitched, laughed, but thirty years later I still enjoy reading this book.

1960 the author of the books Of mice and men and Grapes of Wrath decides to go in search of America with his dog Charlie. 1960 is Kennedy versus Richard Nixon. Kennedy wins by a narrow margin of 112,827 votes (0.17%) over his opponent, while Nixon wins the majority of states (26 to 23 for Kennedy).

Steinbeck wanted to understand and set out. The pretext was choice, the search was deeper. He wanted to go in search of his country, his soul. Understand politics without necessarily talking about it. Listening to people who happened to be out and about, telling him about their joys, their worries, their wishes, their resignations.

I assure the readers of that immediately. I don’t consider myself Steinbeck, that’s far from me. The giants, it is necessary to humbly associate them. But when my editor-in-chief asked me that spring, as I looked out the window of Radio-Canada’s new home—we can’t get over it—what idea I had to propose for the campaign, my brain took me back to high school and Madame Guertin and her course on Steinbeck. I answered : I want to search Quebec.

As the fall campaign begins, the CAQ has a huge lead in the polls, but hasn’t Quebec turned polls into loot boxes more than once? Especially since there are unknown data: the performance of the PQ, that of the Liberal Party, Québec solidaire and this newcomer, the Conservative Party of Éric Duhaime.

But what bothers me is a much more difficult question. Who are we? Which way are we on, which way do we want to go? Do you want to turn right or left at the roundabout?

My bosses told me: OK. Continue. Get going! tell us. They even accepted my faithful accomplice Ivanoh Demers, a very talented photographer, to accompany me. In Quebec, everything starts with a Q and ends with a beak, sang Robert Charlebois to a text by Pierre Bourgeault. But still? Ivanoh and I embark on a quest knowing in advance that it will be incomplete, even flawed. Quebec is so big, it’s so full of horizons, it’s like looking out the window.

I bought a nice plastic card from a shop on Ontario Street. A real card. My young colleagues made fun of me a bit. Do you know you can see this on google? Yes, but it’s not the same. It’s the difference between Chat and talk, listen, meet. Something so out of fashion.

Ivanoh and I are a bit old-fashioned in that regard. We like maps, we like people. We want to see you in person, hear you talk about Quebec, your Quebec. To draw your portrait, with your most beautiful smile, and to respect your tears if there are any, to listen to your tiredness, your indifference and your passions, to see your horizon through the window, whether you are rich or shoot the devil by the tail, whether You speak English, French, Innu, Atikamekw, Spanish or Creole etc.

You can write to me and invite us for a coffee. I guarantee to read you. All. We take the road there, there. We are feverish. We have a cool box and books about Quebec and of course the dog-eared Steinbeck book at the bottom of my bag, then rain boots, warm sweaters and tank tops. Autumn in Quebec can be scorching or chilly.

I already know we’re not going anywhere. We have until October 3rd and Quebec is huge. I get dizzy putting little dots of glue on the map to plan the route. We’ll talk to a few dozen people, maybe up to a hundred. However, in 2022, 8,639,642 people live in Quebec.

PS: Originally I wanted to ride Pamphile, my big English shepherd, like Steinbeck did in 1960 with his Charlie. But traveling with a dog is complicated. He’s with my mother and we have other fish to fry. I’ll bring them to you when we get closer to Montreal.

See you soon. good campaign

Emily and Ivanoh