MONTREAL

This article examines a recent city amalgamation in Montreal as a political game by shedding light on some of the social and symbolic aspects related to administrative borders in the city. These borders are not neutral; they are imbued with meanings, which are manifested when the borders cease to exist as a result of a merger. In other words, city amalgamations do not only involve questions of efficiency and money; they bring into light more abstract concerns of identity and of how to maintain a sense of home in a big city. To fully understand these concerns attention must be paid to the wider regional and national context in Quebec and Canada. Concerns and disputes invoked by the merger, the author argues, are not isolated from but embedded in language conflicts and the Canadian notion of regionalism.