Meet the sovereignist who keeps inviting federalist anglophones to dinner

Prominent nationalist Frédéric Lapointe has forged an unlikely bond with a Quebec anglophone group.

For the second year in a row, francophone sovereignists and anglophone federalists are planning to break bread together at the offices of one of Quebec’s most prominent nationalist organizations. The unlikely dinner — bringing together leaders of the Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois and TALQ, a group representing Quebec’s English-speaking community — is part of a rare attempt at dialogue between two solitudes that have long talked past each other.

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Uncharted territory: In recent months, the MNQ president has become a regular presence at anglo events, from a Concordia symposium on research into Quebec anglophones to a TALQ roundtable at McGill on how francophones and anglophones often interpret the same facts very differently.

For TALQ president Eva Ludvig, Lapointe’s willingness to show up and listen is itself a breath of fresh air. “We are impressed by his openness, considering the organization that he represents, and his genuine interest in overcoming a lot of the divisive rhetoric,” she said. “Our ultimate objective is not the same politically — we are not on the same page. But we do think it’s important to recognize each other’s culture and history and contributions.”

In an era of deepening polarization, Ludvig calls TALQ’s meetings with the MNQ “more than friendly — open and respectful.” Ludvig described the exchanges as the first stages of an effort to find common ground with francophone Quebecers.