Canadian Federal Dynamics: Intergovernmental Relations as the Future for Quebec

Abstract

Quebec’s desire for recognition as “pas comme les autres” has defined fifty years of Canadian politics. In Canada, citizens have multiple layers of identity, including their dual allegiance to the federal nation and provincial culture. In the case of Quebec, these two identities often come into conflict with each other. Quebec nationalist sentiment which manifests itself through threats of sovereignty and demands for constitutional recognition, through negotiation with the federal government, has characterized the nature of Canadian federalism. Quebec has already been greatly accommodated and is privileged in the federal system in comparison to the other provinces. Moreover, the failure of the Liberal governments to create a pan-Canadian identity that Quebec accepts, as well as the Conservatives’ failed attempts to modify the constitution, demonstrate the inability for constitutional reform to recognize Quebec as distinct throughout the past fifty years of Canadian federal relations [...]