Argumentative Essay-Quebec Should Stay With Canada

Quebec Should Stay with Canada

“Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble, And if I stay it will be double”, sang The Clash a decade before Quebec held their second sovereignty referendum. The same question was on everyone's mind on the last few days of October 1995; should they stay or should the go? Quebec has always had an uneasy relationship with Canada. They tried to leave once in 1980 and they’ve had political, economic, cultural and regional differences, but in the end, nobody wins if Canada breaks up so it’s obvious that Quebec should stay Canadian.

First of all, Quebec already has major political influence in Canada. Alongside Ontario, Central Canada has 62% of Canada’s population at nearly 22 million and holds 181 seats (the majority) at the house of commons. These two provinces have control over most of Canada’s parliament and thus, most of Canada. They basically already govern themselves. With this kind of power, Parti Québécois’ push to be independently governed doesn’t make much sense.

Secondly, “La Belle Province” relies on Canada for economic support. The French speaking province receives the most in equalization payments of any in Canada. In turn, Canada makes profit off

of resources in the province and Montreal brings tourism. Without this Canada-Quebec alliance, both sides suffer economically.
Then there’s the Quebecois who will argue that staying in Canada will destroy their culture.

On the contrary, staying with Canada may be the only thing Quebec can do to preserve its culture. French is an official language of Canada because of Quebec’s influence. However, North America is, for the most part, English. A French country would make things complicated as trade, communication, travel, etc. would become more elaborate and many Francophones would have to learn English to get by anyway. Then there’s the fact that the Canadian constitution preserves Quebec culture and protects minorities like the quarter of a million Aboriginal people living in Quebec. That is to say the federal government is properly preserving the history and culture of New

France.
And lastly there’s its geographic region. Quebec is the largest province in the country and Canada would lose a lot if it lost Quebec. Francophone Canada is in the middle of Canada so if it were an independent nation, it would split Atlantic Canada from the rest. Canadians would need a passport to travel within their own country. Not to mention, Canada would lose the St. Lawrence, an important trade and transport route. If Quebec left, they would leave a 1.7 million km² hole in our hearts.
So, in conclusion, Quebec should stay. All things considered, while we may have our differences, an independent, republic Quebec would not fare well politically, economically, culturally or regionally. Both Quebec and Canada as a whole will take major blows. Ultimately, this idealistic dream is not thoroughly thought out and in the end, will fall short of being it’s own functional, independant nation.