Quebec Sovereignty Research Articles

Press and Referenda: The Case of the British Referendum of 1975

What might be expected of the Canadian press, and of comment about the Canadian press, in a referendum on Quebec independence? This article does not seek directly to confront that question: it is exclusively about the contribution of the British press to Britain's referendum in June 1975 on her membership in the European Economic Community. Obviously the circumstances of that referendum were quite different from one about Quebec: unlike Premier Lévesque's proposal, for example, it was held across the whole nation, and opinions differed as widely within the parties and their leaderships as between them. But the article's contention—that referenda tend to put in doubt the legitimacy of the press at the same time as giving them an even more central role than in election campaigns—seems applicable to the Canadian situation and perhaps to referenda in general. To draw out the comparison fully, however, would require a familiarity with Quebec politics (and with the precedent of the 1942 conscription plebiscite) that is far beyond this author's competence. This note attempts simply to argue the case by illustration from the isolated British example.

Quebec's Politics of Vengeance

The victory of the separatist Parti Quebecois (P.Q.) on November 15, 1976, set off the liveliest public debate in Canadian history. For the first time since Confederation the unity of the country is seriously threatened.After the election the Toronto Globe and Mail made a cool analysis of the situation and concluded that the P.Q. victory “leaves us with no excuse for failure to recognize that this country is in great danger.” Donald Creighton, dean of Canadian historians, stated bluntly that the country now faces’ ‘division and possible ruin.''No one doubts that the dangers are well founded. The P.Q. was rowned in 1967 for the express purpose of establishing political sovereignty in Quebec. Rene Levesque, the dynamic and tough-minded leader of the party, has declared on numerous occasions that independence is “an absolute necessity.” His government has already issued guidelines for a referendum and set the fall of 1979 for the first vote.

Canada's energy options

Section 1—Background The conventional energy wisdoms; Alberta, oil and the tarsands—the capital cost crunch; the national energy picture and predictions for future—beginning of the end for conventional policies in [Strategies for Self-Reliance] problems of credibility for the [nuclear solution] cases for conservation and renewable energy as real alternatives to continuing, deepening crisis. Section 2—Specific Issues and Considerations Underlying components of Canadian energy crisis—capital cost pinch; lead time pinch; over-optimistic reserve forecasting; other socio-economic, environmental and political hangups. Examples: Northern energy and Dene threat to development; vast capital costs for tarsand development; environmental and cost checks on rapid, large expansion of hydro potentials; problems for nuclear energy—CANDU and Quebec separatism; overseas sales [sweeteners]. Section 3—The Mounting Crisis Ongoing thrust of energy development versus new problems and policy rationales; particular problems for nuclear power and rapid, large expansion of open-pit coal working; infrastructure and economic-social problems decreasing credibility of nuclear power and expanded coal; lead time and consumer resistance problems for electrification; transport problems for coal; strategic and political problems for nuclear; environment problems for coal; capital cost constraints. Section 4—Conservation and Renewable Energy: the New Solution Preamble to Conservation and the New Renewable Energy Sources. Section 5—Conservation Canada's energy-inefficient society; international economic and social comparisons; potentials for eliminating/reducing demand while raising GNP and showing population growth (both at decreased relative rates); economic development stages and [decoupling] high yielding conservation sectors; quantitative summaries of potentials; policy, social and economic aspects. Section 6—The Renewable Energy Sources Reasons for optimism on renewables; advantages of renewables; solar energy; wind energy; biomass energy; quantitative summaries of potentials; cost and job impacts; conclusions regarding renewable energy sources. Section 7—Programming for Conservation and Renewable Energy Outlines for a structure on which renewables and conservation are developed.

Must Canada Fail?

Can Canadians resolve the crisis in Confederation brought on by the election of the Parti Quebecois in Quebec within the context of a revised federation? What are the options for constitutional change? Will Quebec seek independence and if so, how it come about? What be the future relationship between an independent Quebec and the rest of Canada? Must Canada Fail? is a collection of essays by a group of distinguished scholars, based for the most part at Queen's University, which explores these and other questions posed by the current challenge to the federal system. Deeply committed to the renewal of Confederation, the authors recognize the strength of the drive for independence and the deeply rooted nature of the cultural and economic conflicts which have led to the present situation. They believe that there is a vast reservoir of will to survive in the country, together with a willingness to contemplate new institutional arrangements and policies-considered here in detail-which might reconcile the political goals of Quebecers with those of other Canadians. But they acknowledge that the search for accommodation may fail, and in the light of that possibility examine how separation might occur and what its likely results would be. This is not an optimistic book. It offers no blueprint or panacea, no magic solution of the national crisis, but instead equips the reader with an essential guide to thinking through the choices before Canadians in the years immediately ahead. The contributors are John Archer, Edwin R. Black, R. M. Burns, John Claydon, James de Wilde, Frederick J. Fletcher, William P. Irvine, W. R. Lederman, Peter Leslie, John Meisel, Charles Pentland, George Rawlyk, Hugh Thorburn, John Trent, Ronald L. Watts, John Whyte, and Richard Simeon, editor of this collection.

The Canadian Federation and the Challenge of Quebec Independence

Journal Article The Canadian Federation and the Challenge of Quebec Independence Get access Donald Smiley Donald Smiley York UniversityToronto Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Publius: The Journal of Federalism, Volume 8, Issue 1, Winter 1978, Pages 199–224, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a038480 Published: 01 January 1978

The Canadian Federation and the Challenge of Quebec Independence

The Canadian Federation and the Challenge of Quebec Independence

Canadian Attitudes Towards Quebec Independence

The coming to power of the Parti Quebecois in Quebec has focused much attention on the climate of opinion in Quebec and the rest of Canada, particularly with the prospect of a future referendum on independence. Using data from a national election study and from recent public opinion polls in Quebec, this article examines the strength and stability of support for independence in Quebec and of electoral support for the Parti Quebecois which led to its victory. The data suggest that support for the Parti Quebecois is neither a transient phenomenon nor unrelated to support for independence, which has remained relatively constant over a number of years. Finding that support for both independence and the Parti Quebecois is highest among younger, better educated respondents, and that it relates to fundamental attitudes toward the country, the article hypothesizes that the struggle for independence in Quebec is likely to be a protracted one whose outcome is as yet uncertain. Lawrence LeDuc is Professor of Political Science, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario. POQ 41(1977) 347-355 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.123 on Mon, 18 Jul 2016 05:09:46 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

CANADA, QUEBEC AND THEORIES OF INTERNAL WAR

Abstract The past several years have been marked by renewed signs of significant political unrest and separatist activity in Quebec. In the same period of time a number of scholars in different disciplines have revivified the study of domestic violence or internal war. In spite of this temporal co-occurrence, students of Canadian affairs have done little to place that Quebec independence movement in the context of a theory which would make it understandable as a “type” of behavior rather than as a completely unique activity. This paper discusses some of the requirements of such theories, as they relate to political stability and internal war, categorizes a number of existing works in regard to how they explain the sources of political resistance and revolt and attempts to relate them to the current Quebec-Canada difficulties.

The Issue of Sovereignty: The Clarity Act as an Effective and Legitimate Response to Canada-Quebec Relations

Quebec sovereignty in the Canadian federation has elicited strong emotion across the spectrum of politics and national interest. The forwarding of the Clarity Act by Jean Chretien‘s Liberals was an attempt by the federal government to seek a resolution to the question of Quebec unilateral secession in a legal and clearly defined manner. The Act of 2000 was not of abstract materialization. Rather, it highlighted the complexity of Canada‘s multinational identity and the historical quandaries of her founding races. The Act was a response to the 1995 Quebec referendum, yet despite it being an attempt to provide clarity to concerns arising from the referendum, the Act has generated further debate and new anxieties regarding Canada-Quebec relations [...]

Striving to Maintain a Holistic Nation: Preventing Quebec Sovereignty

Federalism is essentially a system of voluntary self-rule and shared rule […] a binding partnership among equals in which the parties to the covenant retain their individual identity while creating a new entity.‖1 Canadian federalism illustrates how a political sub-unit such as a province, can maintain personal autonomy while contributing and recognizing its importance to the holistic entity. The federal and provincial governments‘ relationship is constitutional, as their division of powers is entrenched in our written Canadian constitution. However, ambiguity in legislature and a provinces belief of having a weak political identity can create tension among these levels of government. Historically, this has been an issue seen through the province of Quebec and the political turmoil experienced on each respective level of government [...]

Three Stages of Revolution

The following letter is from Pierre Vallieres, one of the leaders of the Front de Liberation Quebecoise, the revolutionary nationalist organization of French Canada. Pierre Vallieres, whose article, "Quebec: Nationalism and the Working Class," appeared in MRin February 1965, is serving a life sentence in Montreal for his political activities in favor of an independent and socialist Quebec. The "Charles" to whom he refers in the first paragraph is Charles Gagnon, another leader of the FLQ, who is also in prison awaiting trial in connection with the same events.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

L'idéologie politique de la revue Cité Libre

The Political Ideology of Cité LibreThe most fruitful period in the life of the French-Canadian review, Cité Libre, was during the years 1960 to 1966, which corresponded roughly with Quebec's “Quiet Revolution.” Analysis of the review's political ideology during this period reveals the person, the individual, to be its central concern and the chief principle by which it assessed contemporary events and movements.This emphasis was due, in part, to the personalist philosophy of Emmanuel Mounier and his review, Esprit. To inaugurate a more humane social order, Cité Libre proposed substituting the personal for the collective in so far as the latter is defined in traditional thought. In the same way, the review urged that to inaugurate a more humane politics, social considerations must be substituted for nationalist ones, for nationalism diverts and misdirects people and history itself works in opposition to nationalism. Rejecting the option of an independent Quebec, Cité Libre advocated a state respectful of individuals by reason of its commitment to democracy, federalism, socialism, and world peace.Three levels of political ideology are distinguished in the review: the ideological stand just outlined, the Quebec social situation, and generalized political objectives. Since the period under study, Cité Libre has not had the same biting edge which it once displayed.