The push to formally adopt the Quebec tartan

A tartan is a plaid fabric traditionally associated with Scottish families, each family having its own design. Over time, the fabric was also made for organizations and places.

The Scots have deep roots in Quebec and one woman in Ormstown, about an hour south of Montreal, is taking steps to ensure that history is further recognized by the Quebec government.

In 2019, Linda Janes began to take steps to have the Quebec tartan officially recognized by the province.

“I believe that we should be proud of it and recognize that it is part of Quebec that it is part of the history of Quebec,” she told Global News from her living room while sewing a cloth mask made from the material.

A tartan is a plaid fabric traditionally associated with Scottish families, each family having its own design. Over time, however, tartans were also made for organizations — for example, the military — as well as places.

The Quebec tartan was designed for the province in the mid ’60s, “as were tartans for other (Canadian) provinces for Canada’s Centennial,” said Bruce Bolton, former president of the St. Andrew’s Society of Montreal. He’s also a retired military commander of the Black Watch (RHR) of Canada, which has its own tartan worn by Scottish soldiers for centuries.

“The Quebec tartan has never been officially recognized by the province,” said Janes.

She discovered the tartan in the ’90s.  Shortly after that, members of the Quebec Women’s Institute, an organization that advocates for women’s issues, adopted it to be worn for formal occasions.

“People use it to make kilts, jackets, scarves,” she said while sporting her own jacket made from the material.