Mario Bouthillier on his farm in the eastern townships.John Morstad for the Globe and Mail
A Quebec farmer looking for love is heartened by the warm responses he's received from Toronto and Western Canada.
Now, if he could just get some Quebec women to drop him a line.
Corn grower Mario Bouthillier said about a dozen women from the rest of Canada have sent him their best wishes, but no date offers, after reading about the plight of single farmers in The Globe and Mail.
Unfortunately, the paper has limited reach in Mr. Bouthillier's area near Ange-Gardien, east of Montreal, where most people only speak French.
"There aren't too many people who know about this in my little corner of the world," he says, adding that his farming buddies are sure to give him a hard time when they do get wind of it.
Mr. Bouthillier, 27, was making the rounds of radio talk shows Monday to discuss the life of the single farmer in a time when Canada's population tends toward urban convenience and excitement.
"Hey, it's raining non-stop, I can't get in the field, so it's a good week for it," he says.
Mr. Bouthillier is good-humored about his quest for a mate, but he also points to a serious demographic problem in agriculture.
Young farmers have increasing difficulty finding young partners willing to take on the rigours and desolation of farm life. Statistics Canada says the percentage of young single farmers has doubled in the past 40 years in Quebec.
Farmers elsewhere, who often lack Mr. Bouthillier's advantage of living an hour from a big city, face even bigger difficulties.
Specialized dating services such as farmersonly.com have sprung up to help ranchers and farmers make connections. The site has had more than 100,000 registrants from the U.S. and Canada since it launched in 2006.
The site boasts it has made more than 100 matches that ended in marriage.
Mr. Bouthillier has a Facebook page and has posted a personal ad at Agrirencontre.com . He is enjoying the attention, but he's learned to be patient in his quest.
"It's only been a day," he says. "I'm staying confident, how could you be anything else?"
Les Perreaux