Quebec Artists as Political Actors: A Quantitative Analysis of the Factors Associated with a Nationalist Attitude (Les Artistes Québécois Comme Acteurs Politiques: Une Analyse Quantitative Des Facteurs Associés À L'Attitude Nationaliste)

Abstract

Since the Quiet Revolution, a host of famous artists have actively fought for Quebec sovereignty. Still, until now we have not had any empirical data on nationalist attitudes in the Quebec arts community. An extensive survey was mailed to a random sample of 470 francophone artists in Quebec, representing every major creative and interpretive discipline. The statistical analysis of these results confirms that artists constitute the vanguard of the nationalist movement. They self-identify as Quebecois, support the independentist political agenda, participate directly in furthering the cause, and vote YES more often than any other social group. However, this nationalism is not influenced by the usual sociological factors (gender, age, education, revenue, region). It is not directly connected to the perception of federal and provincial cultural policies, nor to the receiving of public funding. In reality, the nationalist attitude of artists is mostly motivated by their expectation of increased prosperity in a sovereign Quebec. The artists' nationalism is not all passion. It results from rational calculations.