I'm just now reading an article on the history of the Canadian constitution, and the author mentions in passing that the first American Congress had proposed that inhabitants of Quebec join them in rebelling against Britain. The (what were to become) French Canadians did not join them, why not?
Thanks for your time everyone!
Because under the Quebec Act, the Catholic French populations were allowed to practice Roman Catholicism, and the bulk of the people in the thirteen colonies were one sect or another of protestantism. The Quebec Act was one of the "intolerable acts" that led the thirteen to break away. Essentially in a nutshell the colonies were very anti-Catholic and viewed moves such as the Quebec Act as just one more nail in the coffin for any kind of "fair treatment" by the crown. So while you would think the French Canadians would love a chance to drive a knife into King George's back, they were more concerned about the firebrand "Americans".