Funner in Fundy

Nova Scotia is home to another one of Canada’s French speaking communities. They are called Acadians, and even I can tell that the French they’re speaking has a funny Maritime accent. French without the French accent. A fisherman I talked to says the French here is so different that they say Way instead of Oui. But, according to my Quebecois friend, this is a common thing, sort of like saying Yeah.

Here’s some local history I’ve gleaned from tourist pamphlets. French settlers arrived in Maritime Canada in the 1600s and lived side-by-side with the native Mi’kmaq people. The French were expelled and forced to move out when the British came into power in the mid-1700s. Some Acadians moved all the way down to Louisiana and became Cajuns. If you’ve ever wondered where the word Cajun comes from, there you go.

The town of Digby, where I caught the ferry to New Brunswick, was founded by British Loyalists. Otherwise known as American colonists who supported the British in the American Revolution and had to leave when they lost. The Losers, I mean Loyalists, are further divided into Black and White skin tone. Guess which ones got the better land when they handed out farms? If I remember correctly from my last American History class, the real losers of the American Revolution were Native Americans. Although many tribes were persuaded into fighting for the British, I don’t think they got resettled in Canada with the other British supporters. Maybe they got some almost-new blankets instead.