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Nationalism in quebec canada
Nationalism in quebec canada
How has Canada’s identity been shaped by the immigration of individuals from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds
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Written Response #2
Canadian unity and identity has been affected and challenged by many different factors. These factors have shaped our unity into what it is today even after their negative results. Canada's wide geography has resulted in many Canadians feeling omitted from Canadian culture and societies because their needs not being met. The National Energy Program brought in by Pierre Trudeau left many Western Canadians alone and unrecognized. Aswell, with Quebec having a desire to separate from Canada, Canadian unity becomes damaged by their nationalism. All these factors have challenged the nation-states unity and built boundaries among societies.
From the fisheries of the east to the harsh snow of the north, not all Canadians have the same lifestyles and needs.
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Because of the geography many Canadians feel detached from each other which overall challenges a nation's unity. With the bringing of the National Energy Program many Western Canadians felt an even larger barrier between the unity of Canada. The Federal Government forced the west to sell it’s oil for a price that was more suited to the easts benefit. The program created a clash between how the west felt as they were not treated fairly. With the coming of a program that damaged oil industries, a new government party which was created to help the west reek the prosperities of Western Canada. “West Wants In” was the slogan of this new party that had the goal of making people of the west heard. When a nation is divided by their needs and desires it overall damages their nationalism and unity. A country with asymmetrical federalism is a country that gives different government power to different states.
In Canada's case, many feel that because provinces like Ontario and Quebec have unbalanced amounts of government power over the rest of the country. When looking at the number of seats in the house of commons this idea of unbalanced power can be seen in how the east always dominants in its number of seats. This can challenge unity as people of the west may feel unheard on uncared about. Our government runs of a democracy but if people feel unheard then they will not vote and a government with people who do not vote is not a democracy. Furthermore, with more government power, Quebec is left to feel as if they do not need the rest of Canada. The province believes that they would be better off without other provinces. Quebec's nationalism and self-determination has led them with the desire to separate. When one group wants to become distant, the remaining group will be left rather alone. Damaging unity, Quebec's nationalism left the rest of Canada feeling unwanted and unpatriotic. Overall, if a country is balanced it leaves some to feel of a lesser importance which in doubt challenges
unity. In conclusion, many different factor have challenged Canadian unity. These factor all show how the views of Canadians are very different and how to feel equal we must be treated equal. To be unified as a nation means to work as with one another and not neglect a certain area. All of these factors show how Canadian unity has developed our country and shaped it into what it is today. To conclude, after all these factors Canadian unity will continue to face challenges that our nation will be strengthened by.
Although, Quebec’s population share many similar characteristics amongst one another it is not essential to decide “the people” (Heard, 2013). To be considered a state you must represent all the people in it. Quebec prefers independences for the reason of a commonality
To start off, I’ll be writing about the life of people in British North America and its significance towards unifying Canada, as well as background knowledge of conflicts that existed. Life in British North America was changing at an alarming rate. New technology and services were being introduced such as railways and steamships. Industries such as building, producing and farming were being introduced. This was in part due to the many immigrants from Britain and France who’d settled. This was dreadful for the First Nations as their land had been taken away even more so than before. More resources were needed for the growing crowd so trade agreements were made. As more people came, the First Nations were even more distanced from the Europeans. Meanwhile, the French and the British wanted the other’s culture to be erased from the
Although Quebec is in Canada, a majority of Quebecers do not identify with the national identity of Canada. Both societies create a sense of identity as well as nationalism (Hiller, 295). Hiller mentions two approaches to assessing Canadian identity; the unitary approach and the segmentalist approach (Hiller, 277). The unitary approach suggests that society consists of people who regardless of their ethnic back ground, identify as belonging to the national society, while the segmentalist approach concentrates on groups and communities that share racial, linguistic, occupational, or cultural similarities (Hiller, 28). While most Anglophones are more unitary or pan-Canadian, Quebec heavily identifies with the segmentalist approach. This dissimilarity of identity perspective may be problematic for the country, at the same time however, it can also be viewed as a struggle where contradictory parties find a way to compromise and reshape Canadian society together (Hiller, 277). Canada’s former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau made it his objective to unite Quebec with the rest of Canada. In 1969 Trudeau’s government implemented Bill C-120, otherwise known as the Official Language act, which made French an...
The post-war time was a period where major changes were occurring. After being involved in two international conflicts, Canada was ready to reestablish their economy. During this time, Canada had started working on ways to become stronger and reputable. It is evident that Canada had matured through the post-war era. Canada’s economic progress left a positive impact on the growth of the country as consumerism became popular, and economic ties with America became stronger. Moreover, the removal of racial and ethical barriers contributed to Canadian social affairs such as the huge wave of immigration and the baby boom. The Canadian government also had become more aware and involved in issues impacting Canadian citizens. Canada as a whole started identifying itself as an independent nation and participating in events that brought a positive reputation amongst them. These economical, social, and legal changes helped Canada mature into the country it is today.
Quebec has struggled with a need to be maitres chez nous “masters of their own house” (Young, 1998). Many attempts at resolving Quebec's issues has resulted in tensions from both sides. Because Quebec has a strong national identity, and do not define themselves as strictly Canadian, Quebec is seen as difficult, unyielding and discontented. Quebec's separation perhaps is inedible and the future of Canada questionable. Canada without Quebec will bring about many complications and whether there is a rest of Canada (ROC) after Quebec a major challenge. Western alienation and the lack of representation in federal affairs will be a factor; moreover, past actions and historical events may have turned Canada into a time bomb, and the deterioration of the provinces the only sulotion. How First Ministers react to Quebec's sovereignty regarding economic factors, political structure, and constitutional issues will be of great importance. Whether emotional issues will play a major role in decision making is subjective; however, it is fair to say that it will be an emotionally charged event and it could either tear apart the ROC or fuse it together. Placing emphasis on investigating what keeps Canada together is perhaps the key to Canada's future, and salvaging a relationship with Quebec.
The Dual Nation Theory took its heading starting in 1960, with the beginning of the sovereignty movement (Gorman, Robert F. 2008. 2018-2020). It truly took off, however, with the Quiet Revolution, where the idea of “maîtres chez nous” and the shift from being a distinct part of Canada to Quebec being a nation in its own right begins to take hold. Québécois nationalism defined Confederation as being an agreement between two peoples: the French and the English. “Quebec constitutes within Canada a distinct society, which includes a French-speaking majority, a unique culture and civil law tradition” (Chotalia, 1993). This is significant to mention because this is the theory that ultimately leads to the Three Nation Theory.
Currently, Canada remains the world’s second largest country, full of vast and rich resources from all corners of the nation. None of the accomplishments and achievements that Canada has made to date would have been possible without Confederation. Without intense pressure from the Americans, and without the common goal that a few men shared of unifying a country, Canada would not be the strong, free, independent and united nation that it is today.
Canada is known by outsiders to be a very peaceful country. But if you ask any Canadian they well tell you that is unfortunately not the case. For there is a large ongoing conflict between Canadians. The conflict is between the French and the English, or more specifically between Quebec and the rest of Canada. As a result of this conflict, along with some wrongdoing and propaganda. Quebec has considered and has gone as far to hold referendums over Separatism (Surette,2014). Separatism is that the province of Quebec separates from the rest of Canada to form its own country. Which would have immense effects on indubitably Quebec but also the rest of Canada (Martin, 2014). This report will focus on the root causes and origin of Quebec Separatism, the current state of Quebec Separatism and finally how we as a society can act towards Quebec Separatism.
The culture of Canada refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that are a representative of Canada and Canadians. Throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced by American culture because of a shared language, proximity, television and migration between the two countries. Over time, Canadian-American relations have helped develop Canada’s identity during the years 1945-1982; thus introducing changing social norms, media and entertainment. In support of this, due to the United States being approximately 9.25 times larger in population and having the dominant cultural and economic influence, it played a vital role in establishing Canada’s identity. With Canada being its neighbour, naturally, the United States would influence their way of life upon Canada.
Regionalism is a growing concern for Canadians` as it affects economic stability, nationalism and western alienation. The economic stability is reliant on the regions having strong economic bases (Stilborn, 19). Nationalism with Quebec is a prime example of how distinct regional cultures hinder Canada’s unity, as they want to separate from Canada, while still having the federal Canadian government financially support them. Western Alienation is also a prime political culture that is regionally distinct.
Canadians have come along way in their culture and identity. Canadians have participated in multiple wars and battles that have shaped our country and the people that live in this country. But it’s not just the violence what shaped our country but the people and traditions that originated outside of Canada and was brought here. European, British and French cultures and tradition have all influenced Canada’s culture and identity. (Blattberg, C. 13, January 02). Immigrants from all over the world have in the passed contributed to the way we view Canada and because of that we live in a safe, mosaic, multicultural country. (Blattberg, C. 13, January 02).There have also been the First Nations people who started Canada’s good reputation and because of them we have accomplished everything that we have done today. (Blattberg, C. 13, January 02).
payment for our country, free trade. All in all we have our own government, our
Many people across the globe argue that nationalism within Canada is simply not feasible. It is said that we as a people, differ so greatly with our diverse cultures, religions, and backgrounds that we cannot come together and exist together as a strong, united nation. In his book, Lament for a Nation, George Grant tells the reader that “…as Canadians we attempted a ridiculous task in trying to build a conservative nation in the age of progress, on a continent we share with the most dynamic nation on earth. The current history is against us.” (1965) Originally directed towards the Bomarc Missile Crisis, the book argues that whatever nationalism Canada had was destroyed by globalization as well as the powerful American sphere of influence. Although it is true that the book was initially written as a response to the events that took place in the late 1950s, many of the points are still valid today.
The first thing we should examine is what exactly is meant by “strong national identity”. A very good example of strong national identity is the U.S.. I doubt there is a man on this planet who is not familiar with the U.S.. People immediately recognize their flag, and most people can tell you quite a bit about them. The same is true of Canada, and what do they know of Canada? In 1995 U.S. President Bill Clinton stated his view of Canada in a speech where he declared, “Canada has shown the world how to balance freedom with compassion and tradition with innovation, in your efforts to provide health care to all your citizens, to treat senior citizens with the dignity and respect they deserve...”(Canada Today 9). We were also rated first in the UN’s 1992 “Human Development Index” (9).
When Canada was a new nation, it was a British Colony. In 1867, because of the British-