The Rise of an Intercultural Nation: Immigration, Diversity and Nationhood in Quebec

Abstract

This paper examines Quebec's management of immigration and diversity in the promotion of cultural and political autonomy from Canada. Quebec has been able to secure some of the prerogatives of a sovereign nation-state in part through its control of immigration and its development of an intercultural integrative policy framework. Instead of diminishing the national distinctiveness of Quebec within the Canadian federation, rising immigration has accentuated it in many ways. The concept of intercultural nationalism is used to define a particular state-building strategy that is responsive to economic and demographic changes brought by increased global integration. We argue that the emergence of Quebec as a strong nation with sporadic, but specifically dominant and legitimate state power is reflective of the adaptations that many nation-states have undergone in response to the challenges of globalisation. By that measure, the Quebec state is, in a sense, more of a national state than it ever was in the past. Increasing diversity both within and outside its borders has contributed to this evolution.