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Quebec as a Nation - Dangerous Ground
First Michael Ignatieff….and now the Prime Minister wades in on Quebec as a nation. If you are a federalist voter in Quebec you really have to be scratching your head this morning. The Conservative Prime Minister from Alberta now clearly recognizes Quebec as a “nation within Canada”. The Liberals are looking and recognizing Quebec as a “nation” in some form. The NDP would recognized Quebec as a “nation”.
What the Prime Minister has done is validate Gilles Duceppe. Duceppe can now take his partial victory and ask for more….thus increasing his relevancy in Quebec.
I expect the five priorities to be a distant memory as now the Tory government adds yet another issue to potentially get mired in….add Quebec as a nation to Afgahnistan and pulling out of Kyoto.
Based on the new Conservative motion, it’s safe to say there is now room for a “federalist” option in Quebec. With the Conservatives and the NDP having firmly staked out their ground that only leaves the Liberals to consider reclaiming territory that they once firmly held. But even doing that is not without risks.
As you might remember last week we released a poll on the likely impact of the Liberals symbolically recognizing Quebec as a nation on Liberal support.
The symbolic recognition of Quebec as a nation has traction only in Quebec. Outside of Quebec – it is quite likely to push voters away from the federal Liberals. The two key battlegrounds for the next election are Ontario and Quebec.
Think of the trade-off. On the one hand you have a net negative impact in Ontario (10% more likely to vote Liberal while 54% say they would be less likely to vote Liberal), while there is a potential upside in Quebec (40% more likely to vote Liberal while 12% less likely to vote Liberal) where voters can already opt for the pro-Quebec Bloc.
It will be interesting to see how those in the RoC (Rest of Canada) respond to putting Quebec as a nation back on the political front burner.
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I grew up an Anglo in Quebec. French Quebecers didn't embrace sovereignty-associ... more
RonMacD (Ontario) 23 Nov 09:02
I commend Mr. Harper and Mr. Ignatieff for opening up this issue for debate. In ... more
PMK (Ontario) 23 Nov 09:12
There is a HUGE difference between recognizing 'Quebec' as a nation (which is wh... more
kpr (Ontario) 23 Nov 16:19
To even dare to think of allowing Quebec to become a nation within a nation is t... more
SwathingScientist (Ontario) 23 Nov 11:49
There is a HUGE difference between recognizing 'Quebec' as a nation (which is wh... more
kpr (Ontario) 23 Nov 16:19
I grew up an Anglo in Quebec. French Quebecers didn't embrace sovereignty-associ... more
RonMacD (Ontario) 23 Nov 09:02
Comments
RonMacD
I grew up an Anglo in Quebec. French Quebecers didn't embrace sovereignty-association and probably won’t embrace the Quebec is a Nation concept due to the fact that Quebec students have been indoctrinated for the past 50 years to believe that only outright sovereignty is acceptable.Nothing will change.
23 Nov 09:02
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PMK
I commend Mr. Harper and Mr. Ignatieff for opening up this issue for debate. In doing so, they have responded to an 'accepted' notion in Quebec (as per M. Charest). I find no comfort in the current crop of Liberal leadership hopefulls who have said "Now is not the time to discuss the issue". To me this is not leadership, it's speak to a willingness to avoid hard issues. At least we know where Mr. Dion and Mr. Ignatieff stand on this issue.
On the poll results, I would suggest that Canadians lack of support for Quebec as a nation demonstrates where we are today, which is a function of where we have been on this issue - Meech and Charlottetown. It would seem opportune for our leaders who support this fact/concept to engage and inform Canadians on what Quebec as a nation means today. Polls speak to where we are now, our leaders job is to help us get to where we need to be.
23 Nov 09:12
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kpr
There is a HUGE difference between recognizing 'Quebec' as a nation (which is what the Ignatieff people irritatingly proposed) and recognizing the 'Quebecois' as a nation within Canada (which is how Harper seeks to one-up both the Bloc and the Liberals). I can live with the second notion; the first is a path to separation. Why are people assuming the Harper motion is the same as the Iggy one? One calls a province a nation and the other calls a people a nation. They are totally different. Just ask the 1 million residents of the province of Quebec who are routinely not considered part of the Quebecois nation.
23 Nov 16:19
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just a guy...
Harper has I think not validated Duceppe so much as countered him very effectively. We see this in Duceppes desperate attempt to present a third motion on the issue and in his angry retorts to the press.
Where Duceppe wants to set a groundwork for separation, Harper has firmly placed the Quebecois within Canada; and where the Liberals seem to want to give Quebec special constitutional priviledges, there is none of that in this legislation.
This is Harper at his decisive best, a remarkable contrast to the liberals of the last several weeks
24 Nov 11:35
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chrisinpgbc
Burn in hell traitors get lost and don't let the door hit ya when ya leave
[updated Tue Oct 07 20:29:07 EDT 2008]
07 Oct 20:29
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