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What does “tantôt” mean in Quebec French?

In Quebec French, tantôt is one of those small words that instantly marks the speaker as Canadian. Standard European French uses tantôt to mean “this afternoon.” Quebec speakers shift it: tantôt can mean “earlier” (a few minutes ago) or “in a bit” (very soon), depending on the tense around it. It’s closer to English “a moment ago” or “in a moment.”

When the speaker says tantôt in this clip, she’s referring to something that happened just before. Standard French would use tout à l’heure. Textbooks teach the European meaning; Quebec speakers use the local one constantly. One word can give away the side of the Atlantic in a single syllable.