Quebec Independence Movement

Minuteman

Most of you have probably heard about Quebec nationalism at some point in your life, even if you aren't Canadian. This is the first thread of a collection of threads I will post at some point in the future regarding separatist movements around the world. So, I have spent quite some time researching the Quebec independence movement, as well as other movements. Canada has had several referendums asking the people if they think Quebec should become independent, and every time the majority of the people have said no. Personally I am against the independence movement, since the facts simply don't support Quebec's movement, and they wouldn't be self-sufficient. I do however recognize that the culture of Quebec is different from that of the rest of Canada.


Arguments for Independence
* In Quebec the official language is French, whereas the rest of Canada speaks English
* The goals and policies of the rest of Canada do not necessarily always align with those of Quebec
* Quebec's French culture is dying and arguably without independence or autonomy, it will eventually become like the rest of Canada
* Many separatists in Quebec feel as though the Canadian government didn't live up to it's promise for a new constitution in 1970
* Some websites recognize Quebec's distinct cultural differences from Canada, such as how Yahoo! has both Canadian and Quebecker Yahoo! Answers websites

Arguments Against Independence
* Quebec already maintains a degree of autonomy as a province of Canada
* The French language is dying out in Quebec and being replaced with English
* The withdrawal of Quebec from Canada could significantly hinder Canada's political, economic, and military strength
* The majority of the population of Quebec don't support independence or autonomy
* Terrorism committed by pro-independence guerrilla factions drives people away from supporting Quebec sovereignty
* If Quebec became independent, it would create a barrier in the middle of Canada, separating Eastern Canada and Western Canada
* It is questionable whether or not Quebec could be economically self-sufficient without the aid of Canada
* Quebec has no pre-existing constitution or framework for government
* Quebec is made up of many different ethnic groups, and an independent French-speaking Quebec could easily abuse minorities
* Historically speaking, the former French government of Quebec often ignored, suppressed, and mistreated the aboriginal population
* Many of the leaders of the separatist movement are discriminatory against the aboriginal population, including the former leader of Quebec, Robert Bourassa
* Many aboriginal tribes in Canada have expressed concerns regarding Quebec sovereignty, and some have even threatened to leave the confederacy
* The ideas on how an independent Quebec should be governed are very different, with many different parties and organizations, each with different ideological idea on what the future of Quebec should be. Many of the groups are far-left communist groups, while others are center-right and far right..


General Information
Proposed State: Quebec
Proposed Capital: Quebec City
Today Part of: Canada (Quebec)
Government: various
Population: 7,970,672 (5.63 /km2 density)
Land: 1,365,128 km2 land + 176,928 km2 water
GDP: C$303,747 billion (C$37,278 per capita)
Language: French
Culture: Canadian, French
Religion: Catholic
Denonym: Québécois, Quebecers/Quebeckers

Political Parties
Parti Québécois
Bloc Québécois
Action démocratique du Québec
Québec solidaire
Parti république du Québec (defunct)
Parti républicain du Québec (defunct)
Parti nationaliste du Québec (defunct)
Ralliement national (defunct)
Mouvement Souveraineté-Association (defunct)
Parti indépendantiste (defunct)
Parti indépendantiste of 1985 (defunct)
Parti canadien (defunct)
Parti canadien of 1942 (defunct)

Paramilitary Organizations
Mouvement de libération nationale du Québec
Société des Fils de la Liberté (defunct)
Front de libération du Québec (defunct)
Frères chasseurs (defunct)

Other Organizations
Les Intellectuels pour la souveraineté
Réseau de Résistance du Québécois
Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society
Alliance laurentienne (defunct)


Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_sovereignty_movement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Quebec_sovereignty_movement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_nationalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_autonomism


Flag


Coat of Arms


Map

Fr Tod Umptious

I remember back in 1995 when the last referendum was and at the time I thought independence would be a good idea.

If I recall the NO side won by less that 1%

But I was young and into that sort of stuff at the time.

I have been to Montreal a few times since and as an outsider looking in I think it has a great deal of 'cultural' autonomy as it is.

In Montreal the only reason you know that you are in North America is because of the cars are North American makes, the city is very French.

Driving through the small villages between Montreal and the US border is like driving in France and I guess it would be even more pronounced the further north beyond Montreal you go.

I really can't see how Quebec would be any better off if they split of Canada and the fact that it would physically split the current country is a major problem also.

Also the French language is an official language throughout Canada and not just in Quebec.

KeithAFC

Different people, so i suppose. A bit like my own background and belonging to a different group of people. Like the Southern Nationalists in America.

jmayo

Minuteman wrote: »

Personally I am against the independence movement, since the facts simply don't support Quebec's movement, and they wouldn't be self-sufficient. I do however recognize that the culture of Quebec is different from that of the rest of Canada.

Arguments for Independence
* In Quebec the official language is French, whereas the rest of Canada speaks English

Ehh the rest of Canada has bent over backwards on this I think.
Ever notice how on food products French and English get equal billing.
It is not like here where our products have English as primary language on the packaging and the other languages e.g French, German, etc get small billing on the rear.

French has the status of one of Canada's two official languages at the federal government level.
In New Brunswick both languages get equal billing.
In Quebec the primary language is French and they are not that accommodating towards English.

Minuteman wrote: »

* It is questionable whether or not Quebec could be economically self-sufficient without the aid of Canada

AFAIK the last time the separationists wanted out, some of them also wanted the other provinces to cancel their debt before they left.
Run that one by an Albertan and they are very quick to tell you where to go.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

If Quebec broke away from Canada, then its possible Newfoundland would leave the confederation as well. They weren't all that keen on joining to begin with.

invinciblePRSTV

PQ took a hammering in the recent elections, the latest in a downward trend of support for them.

And the people of Quebec have consistently shown that for all their misgivings about membership of the Canadian federation, they are quite fond of the economic and social benefits of this membership, hence why even if a measure for greater independence was passed, Quebec would still maintain a position within the Canadian federation.

Dion describes this as the fear-confidence dynamic, and as long as the federal government maintains the degrees of seperation in the power structures and legislative functions of the Canadian state, then Quebec shall remain within Canada for the foreseeable future.

Cookie_Monster

The majority of the population of Quebec don't support independence or autonomy

That's all that really matters IMO

RMD

The only thing that matters in this case, is whether the people of Quebec want independence or not.

Pride Fighter

invinciblePRSTV wrote: »

PQ took a hammering in the recent elections, the latest in a downward trend of support for them.

Not necessarily true, they went down from 10% to 6%. First Past the Post made it appear worse than what it was.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

If Quebec split away I wonder if St Pierre and Miquelon would join it? What a bizarre place those islands must be.

Manic Moran

Front de libération du Québec (defunct)

They caused quite a nuisance in 1970. Not sure they really helped their cause much.



NTM

Batsy

The Quebecans have two things they can boast about.

1) They can speak French as a first language without suffering the embarrassment of actually being French.

2) They can boast to any Frenchman they come across that they come from the world's biggest French-speaking territory.

Iwasfrozen

Batsy wrote: »

The Quebecans have two things they can boast about.

1) They can speak French as a first language without suffering the embarrassment of actually being French.

2) They can boast to any Frenchman they come across that they come from the world's biggest French-speaking territory.

1) The French consider their accents retarded. So no they can't.

2) So what? Canadians don't boast to English people about coming from the worlds largest english speaking territory. If that's all they have to be proud of then they're really scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to boast of.

steddyeddy

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

1) The French consider their accents retarded. So no they can't.

2) So what? Canadians don't boast to English people about coming from the worlds largest english speaking territory. If that's all they have to be proud of then they're really scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to boast of.

In fairness the country of framce has we know it has only had a french speaking majority (in fact one hundred years ago a large number of french couldnt speak french) for the last one hundred years.

so in reality wheter the french as a nation who took up french as a national langauge relativlely recently think another french speaking county's accent is "retarded" is more of a flaw in the french who think that rather than the candians who speak it.