Canadian Nationalism In Quebec

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Introduction
In general, nationalism can be defined as a sentiment based on common cultural characteristics that binds a population and often produces a policy of national independence or separatism (Dictionary.com, 2012). The nationalist movement in Quebec has been known to be one of the most powerful national movements in the developed West (Meadwell, 1993). Quebec is an ideal example of a sub-state nation that has claimed the right to sovereignty from a federal state. The reason for this is that provinces within the Canadian federal state have particular exclusive constitutional powers, which includes the legislation of social programs. Historically, provincial social policy legislation included health care policies, family policies (affordable …show more content…

In general, Quebec is overwhelmingly French speaking, while the rest of Canada is overwhelmingly English speaking. Language has remained one of the key symbols of Quebecois nationalism and has been central in the arguments for the protection of a minority culture in Quebec. French Canadians were, and still are overwhelmingly Catholic, while English Canadians tend to be Protestant (Fitzmaurice, 1985). The cause of linguistic segmentation in Canada goes back to the British conquest in Quebec in 1759. The primary institution that has defined the character of French Canadian nationalism in Quebec from the mid 19th to the 20th century is the Roman Catholic Church (Fenwick, 1981). It was the Church that essentially articulated the values and dominated the culture of French Canada and it was the Church that helped provide the elite, which mediated relations between French Canadians and the …show more content…

Despite there being various actors who contributed to Quebec’s journey to nationalism, I would consider Rene Levesque to be one of the leading advocates for Quebec nationalism. He was viewed as an outspoken leader for Quebec’s independence and later formed the new provincial party in Canada – the Parti Quebecois (Tangelder, 1995). The purpose of the party was to essentially achieve Quebec sovereignty or independence by means of majority vote. Levesque used his platform to ultimately shed light to some of the root issues that were occurring in Quebec, specifically issues that negatively targeted French Canadians. One issue was regarding the concerns of how the majority of businesses (80%) were owned by Anglophones, which limited the chances of opportunity for French Canadians to progress in the business world (Fitzmaurice,

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