"I Would Be..." - Ben Larocque

For hundreds of years, the Canadian culture and way of life is all my family has ever known. My family has been in Canada since 1665, a claim very few people can make. Often, when I would ask my dad’s relatives about our family history, all I ever got was “we’re Canadian, we always have been”. Luckily, thanks to a distant cousin’s efforts I was able to track my ancestors to France. As a white, male, member of the middle class my life would hold many similarities no matter where I was raised, although due to France’s much larger purchasing power and my own ambitions and goals, some differences are created.

Although Canada and France are extremely comparable in many aspects of life, the same did not hold true at the time of my ancestor’s immigration to Canada. Thanks to the Larocque History Book, a website created by my relative Louis Larocque, I was able to trace my heritage all the way back to around 1641, to my great x10 grandfather Philibert Couillaud dit Roquebrune, the common ancestor of many Larocque's in North America. Philibert Couillaud dit Roquebrune was of a family of noble origins, (De Roquebrune 99), and was believed to be from Gascony or Nevers, two areas in France. Much of the information on my ancestor is merely speculation, including the claim made by a family historian and author in the early 20th century that he was member of King Louis XIV’s musketeers, (Larocque). The claim goes as far as to say “After serving as a King's Musketeer, Philibert Couillaud Roquebrune joined the Carignan-Sallieres regiment. He left France, so goes the story, after a duel in which his opponent, Hauterive, was mortally wounded. Since dueling was illegal, Roquebrune was now in trouble with the king. A cousin, La Roque de Saint-Chamarand, was able to help him wriggle out of the scrape. He was spirited off to New France in 1665 to fight the Iroquois. King Louis XIV by now held Roquebrune back in his good graces. He encouraged Roquebrune and the other officers and soldiers of Carignan to remain in the colony. Philibert did remain and in so doing became the main progenitor of the Larocque family in North America” (Makk). This Alexandre Dumas-styled story does appear to hold some merit. Records show that In 1665, at the age of about 24, Philibert Couillaud dit Roquebrune embarked from France for the New World (Canada) aboard La Paix. Philibert was among the soldiers belonging to Le Régiment de Carignan, who set out for New France to protect colonists from attacks by the Iroquois, as ordered by the King. Figure 2 shows a recreation of the passenger list of La Paix, in which my ancestor’s name has been highlighted. Although his real motives for emigrating from France are unknown, it is likely that, as a white male of noble descent, Philibert would have left a much more comfortable life behind in France, only immigrating to the new world under orders. His motives for staying are likely due to him being offered a large amount of land in New France for his service with the regiment. It would appear that my ancestor’s decision to stay in North America paid off, as the economic and social climate of New France quickly developed to the point where a well off man in the colony could easily hold a quality of life equal or above that of France (Dunn). He would later settle down in Contrecoeur and marry Catherine Laporte, the daughter of French immigrants, to which he had 11 children.

Figure 1 - Plaque dedicated to Figure 2 - Passenger list of La Paix (Larocque)

the pioneers of Contrecoeur (Larocque)

But what if Philibert never left France? Life for a sixteen year old descendant of his would hold many similarities, as well as defining contrasts. The life of a white, male member of the middle class in France is quite comparable to that of one in Canada. I still would have grown up without having to worry about a roof over my head or my next meal. Similarly, belonging to the majority, I would not have been the of any hate crimes. I would have access to all levels of education I required, and would have no trouble finding a well paying job later in life. Many specific statistics help to emphasize the similarities between these two countries. For example, life expectancy in both countries is approximately 82 years (Graphiq). As France has a GDP/purchasing power of about $1.36 trillion versus Canada’s $690.30 billion (NationMaster), my life would see some minute improvements in some categories. France is able to invest more in their healthcare system, a universal system similar to ours. This is illustrated by that statistics stating that there are 7.7 hospital beds in France per 1,000 people versus 3.7 in Canada, as well as 3.37 physicians per 1,000 people in France versus 2.1 in Canada, an overall health care index, 82.23 for France versus 71.98 in Canada, an Infant mortality of 3.5 per 1,000 live births in France versus the Canadian 4.3, and the percent of adult obesity in France being 18.2% vs 26.2% in Canada (NationMaster). Interestingly, although 84% of French people claim they are happy, while 75% of Canadians make the same claim, the quality of life in Canada is higher scoring a 174.8 on the index while France scored 132.11. The significant change in happiness can likely be attributed to things such as satisfaction with the government, society, and being generally more worker oriented in terms of employment. The latter is supported by France’s shorter work week, which is on average 35 hours while the work week in Canada is approximately 44 hours, and a higher minimum wage of $13.41/hour in France versus $11.40/hour In Ontario and $10.55/hour student wage in Ontario. In terms of post secondary education, the average tuition for a French bachelor's degree is about $265 per semester (Vioreanu), while Canadian tuition may range from $5000 to upwards of $15000 a year depending on the field of study (Statistics Canada). I would have to achieve my personal aspirations of becoming a civil engineer much differently in France. Although both countries first require an undergraduate degree, I would be paying much more in Canada, approximately $14000 each of four semesters, while only paying the previously mentioned average of $265/semester in France. After graduating with my bachelors in Canada, I would be required to work four years under a certified engineer before I become qualified to become certified myself, while in France I would be required to complete an additional four years in a masters’ engineering program (tuition approximately $865.33/year) instead (Proton). Job prospects in this field are high and expanding in both countries. On average, a certified civil engineer in Canada has a salary of $62,862 (PayScale), in France the average salary is similar, being $60,015 (Glassdoor).

As someone who does not have to worry about being the subject of bigotry, was raised in a safe and healthy environment, and is able to finance their post-secondary education, I am very fortunate to have very little to worry about no matter where I grew up.

Works Cited

Center for the Study of Intelligence. "The World Factbook: France." The World Factbook, Central

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    6 Dec. 2016.

De Roquebrune, Robert. L'ascendance noble de Philibert Couillaud de La Roque de Rocqueburne est

    aussi la votre. The Larocque history book, freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

    ~louislarocque/DrouinAscendance.htm. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.

Dunn, Linda. "Daily Life in New France." Canada: A Country by Consent, Artistic Productions Limited,

    2011, www.canadahistoryproject.ca/1663/1663-14-daily-life.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.

Glassdoor. "Engineer Salaries in Paris, France." Glassdoor, 12 Jan. 2017, www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/

    paris-engineer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,5_IM1080_KO6,14.htm?countryRedirect=true. Accessed 15 Jan.

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Graphiq. "Canada vs France." Find the Data, Graphiq, country-facts.findthedata.com/compare/31-98/

    Canada-vs-France. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.

Larocque, Louis. "History of our ancestor Philibert Couillaud dit Roqueburne." The Larocque History

    Book, Louis Larocque, 22 Sept. 2014, freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

    ~louislarocque/DebutPhilE.htm. Accessed 6 Dec. 2016.

Makk, Bridget Margaret. "Philibert Couillaud dit Roquebrune de Laroque." Geni, 27 Dec. 2016,

    www.geni.com/people/Philibert-Couillaud-dit-Roquebrune-de-Laroque/6000000004211905754. Accessed

    15 Jan. 2017.

NationMaster. "Country vs country: Canada and France compared: Economy stats." NationMaster,

    www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Canada/France/Economy. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.

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    www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Canada/France/Health. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.

PayScale. "Civil Engineer Salary (Canada)." PayScale, www.payscale.com/research/CA/

    Job=Civil_Engineer/Salary. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.

Proton, Romain. "Comment devenir Ingénieur ?" ["How to become an Engineer"]. digiSchool, 25 Sept.

    2010, www.ingenieurs.com/comment-devenir-ingenieur/comment-devenir-ingenieur-105.php. Accessed

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Statistics Canada. "University tuition fees, 2015/2016." Statistics Canada, 9 Sept. 2015,

    www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/150909/dq150909b-eng.htm. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.

Vioreanu, Dana. "Tuition Fees and Living Costs in France." Mastersportal, Studyportals, 25 Jan.

    2016, www.mastersportal.eu/articles/355/tuition-fees-and-living-costs-in-france.html. Accessed

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