Federalism in Quebec

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Quebec federalist ideology
)

Federalism in Quebec (French: Fédéralisme au Québec) is concerned with the support of confederation in regards to the federal union of Canada: that is, support for the principles and/or political system of the government of Canada (status quo). This issue has been summarized as revolving around the concepts of Quebec remaining within Canada and opposition to the desires of Quebec sovereigntists.

Throughout the

allophones have been overwhelmingly opposed to Quebec's secession.[citation needed
]

Supporters of independence point to their belief that Quebec is a

Rest of Canada). Many federalists believe that Canada comprises many nations in the cultural and ethnic, non-political sense;[clarification needed] and that Quebec can be divided into just as many nations as Ontario or British Columbia.[clarification needed
]

Most major federal political parties, including the

New Democratic Party and the Green Party of Canada support maintaining the status quo with Quebec remaining part of Canada. The Bloc Québécois is the sole sovereigntist federal party with seats in the House of Commons. Two provincial political parties, the Coalition Avenir Québec and the Quebec Liberal Party, support different ideas about Quebec's political status within Canada; the former wants to make Quebec an autonomous
province within Canada, while the latter, like its former national parent party, supports maintaining the status quo with Quebec remaining part of Canada.

Historical context

The idea that the

William Lyon MacKenzie
fought with the British colonial government for enhanced representation, among other grievances.

Ideological branches

While the usual denomination for all followers is simply federalist, two main branches can be sketched out.

Quebec nationalist federalism and autonomism

Main article: Autonomism in Quebec

Federalist Quebec nationalists defend the concept of Quebec remaining within

autonomy and national recognition
for Quebec within the Canadian federation. This approach to national unity has a long tradition within Canadian federalism that in some respects can be traced back to the compromises of the 19th century that were essential to the unification of Upper and Lower Canada and eventually Confederation.

The

Parti libéral du Québec represented a progressive, left-leaning variety of federalist nationalism throughout the Lesage and Bourassa eras (1960s to 1990s). However, since the failures of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords, and the 1995 Quebec referendum on independence, the party has had no defining plan for official national recognition, albeit in general the Party has taken many stances in favour of autonomy and self-determination
.

Recently, the Université de Montréal political philosopher Charles Blattberg has put forward a series of arguments aimed at integrating Québécois nationalism within a renewed Canadian federalism, one that recognizes Canada's multi-national character.[1]

The centre-right, autonomist and Quebec nationalist

Quebec nationalists
.

More recently at the federal level, the

New Democratic Party of Canada moved in the direction of asymmetrical federalism under former leaders Jack Layton and Tom Mulcair, both Quebec natives. This included opposition to the Clarity Act (the Sherbrooke Declaration, which brought the NDP in line with position of the Quebec Liberal Party), and support for enhancing French language rights. Within the Liberal Party of Canada former Prime Minister Paul Martin also supported asymmetrical federalism, albeit he was in favour of the Clarity Act. For the most part though, the federal Liberals are associated with symmetrical federalism.[citation needed
]

On the Right, former the Progressive Conservative Party leader and prime minister Joe Clark (who also opposed the Clarity Act), and some Quebec figures within the modern Conservative Party of Canada have also taken a stance in favour of greater autonomy for Quebec within Canada.

Notable asymmetrical federalists have included

Francois Legault, Paul Martin, Joe Clark, Robert Bourassa, Brian Mulroney, Claude Ryan, and Jean Lesage
.

"Status-quo" federalism

Currently, governmental oversight is shared amongst a federal legislature and a number of legislatures whose power is distributed as per the Constitution.[2]

Federalists in favour of the status quo, or symmetrical federalists, also defend Quebec remaining within Canada; however, they support the status quo division of powers between Ottawa and Quebec City and the current Constitution. Current Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau at one point suggested that gaining Quebec's signature to the Constitution was not a priority, putting him at odds with many past federalists from his home province.[citation needed]

This strain of Canadian federalism is strictly against reopening the Constitution and supports policies of shared and exclusive provincial jurisdiction in areas such as taxation, healthcare and immigration. They defend the federal government occasionally encroaching on areas that Quebec governments (both federalist and sovereigntist) consider their rightful jurisdiction. In general, federalists of this school of thought are opposed to officially recognising Quebec as a "nation" or "distinct society" within Canada, and support the Clarity Act (legislation introduced by the Chrétien government, essentially giving the federal government the right to establish a "clear majority" threshold for any sovereignty referendum at its own discretion and after the fact - this is opposed by the Quebec Liberal Party).[citation needed]

Notable symmetrical federalists have included Pierre Trudeau, Jean Chrétien, Stéphane Dion and Justin Trudeau.

Although this strain of uncompromising, centralising Canadian federalism is most often associated with the Liberal Party of Canada and the political tradition of Pierre Trudeau, it also has adherents from other parties and across the political spectrum.

Related Terms

In French, fédération can be defined as: (1) a methodical approach of defining a set of types in regards to complex realities, applied to state organization.

a grouping of various associations, unions, parties, and clubs. It can also be used as synonym for federal state.[3]

In English, federalism has been defined as a "mode of political organization that unites separate states or other polities within an overarching political system in such a way as to allow each to maintain its own fundamental political integrity".[4]

This compromise as political system has been called a “quasi-federal concept”,[2] as well as described as a "post-nation" state.[5]

Federalist parties

Represented in the Parliament of Canada

Represented in the National Assembly of Quebec

See also

Compare

References

  1. ISBN 0-7735-2547-5
    .
    ISBN 2-7606-1948-6
    .
  2. ^ a b Federalism at The Canadian Encyclopedia, accessed September 1, 2019
  3. ^ "Définitions : fédération - Dictionnaire de français Larousse". Larousse.fr. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  4. ^ "Federalism | Definition, History, Characteristics, & Facts".
  5. TheGuardian.com
    . 4 January 2017.
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