Club Pays — the first-ever sovereigntist-themed coffee shop in Quebec — opened its doors in Montreal’s Plaza St-Hubert on Friday.
The café is run by OUI Québec, a non-partisan and citizen-led group that advocates for Quebec’s independence.
From “Québecanos” to “bisc-oui-ts,” the café serves snacks and beverages, including alcohol. The space also hosts events and live performances to highlight local Quebec artists.
Camille Goyette-Gingras, president of OUI Québec said Club Pays is more than a sovereigntist movement – it’s a community.
“This space is a space to create human connections, to think about the long-term future of Quebec, to create solutions that’s going to answer the long-term perspectives and the problems that the citizens live right now,” said Goyette-Gingras.
OUI Québec is a non-partisan movement that hopes to bring sovereigntists together and said individuals from all walks of life are welcome to visit the café — whether it’s to learn or have open-discourse about Quebec independence.
“We saw there was a vox-pop done on the street about Club Pays, and people from immigrant backgrounds said basically, ‘well, if the coffee is good, why not?,’” said Goyette-Gingras.
That’s what Goyette-Gingras said Club Pays is all about: taking the intensity off the discussion about immigrants and repairing their trust, moving further away from the social divides sometimes caused by politics, like the debates at the National Assembly.
“Of course the French language is at the center of our identity and our culture, but it doesn’t mean that English is not relevant. […] Everyone is relevant in the movement and everyone should be apart of it too,” said Aymeric Lalonde, a 19-year-old Youth Coordinator of OUI Québec.
Lalonde said he’s been a part of the Quebec independence group since he was 16 years old — and he’s not the youngest in the sovereigntist movement.
“It’s quite nice to see so many young people. Most people say, ‘oh, they’re not educated, they’re not interested in politics or everything. But that’s not true. When you come to our events, you have people that are 14 and you have people that are 78 years old,” said Lalonde.
Vice Benoit, a first-time customer at Club Pays, said he appreciates OUI Québec’s non-partisan approach to the sovereigntist movement.
“It’s a very nice way to get introduced to the subject and kind of demystify it and remove some of the stereotypes about this,” said Benoit.
Mike Tricco, a visitor from Newfoundland, Alberta, said Club Pays is great for Quebecers, however, if Quebec “left the country it would be terrible. Alberta wants to leave the country – then there’s no more country. I love Canada,” he said.
Despite Club Pays only being open for a day, the café is getting busier. Club Pays’ proceeds go to OUI Québec.
