Economic Nationalism In Quebec

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Economic Nationalism in Quebec
Economic growth in Quebec has played a large role in its formation of nationalism. Considering the fact that small regional economies can now base their economic growth on participation in an open regional or international economy has ultimately influenced the politics of nationalist movements in Quebec (Meadwell, 1993). Former Quebec Premier, Jacques Parizeau suggested that increased openness in the international economy would allow Quebec to be politically independent and economically active. There were even earlier ideas of Quebec having their own monetary union, however Parizeau proposed that Quebec use the Canadian dollar as its currency (Juteau, 2002). Parizeau played a significant role in bringing light …show more content…
When comparing Quebec to other Canadian provinces, it is clear to say that this unique province has maintained a certain level of national autonomy. Since 1960, the Quebec provincial government has had occasional powers of autonomy usually reserved for dominant state institutions, which ultimately fosters Quebec’s emergence of a nation-state – one that is responsible in protecting its sovereignty through political actions (Blad and Couton, 2009). One way that Quebec has continued to pursue an increased amount of autonomy has been through immigration selection and integration. Essentially, this allows Quebec to completely control most aspects of immigration within its region (Garcea, 1998). The separation of Canada’s immigration policy is largely because of Quebec’s attempts at greater policy autonomy, with the intention in protecting and enhancing the use of French (Blad and Couton, 2009). Studies have shown that in 2002, almost half of all immigrants moving to Montreal spoke some French, compared to only 2% of those moving to Toronto and Vancouver (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2002). In addition, due to the 1977 French Language Charter, the majority of recent immigrants now send their children to French schools. Quebec’s immigration policy is simply an example of a nation-state building tool that allows the province to drive towards national cohesion and …show more content…
The implementation and promotion of federal multiculturalism is partially what contributed to the election of the Parti Quebecois (PQ) in 1976, because many French Canadians strongly believed that this new idea of ‘multiculturalism’ reduced and undermined Quebecois culture to simply an ‘equal status’ among other Canadian cultural groups (Fitzmaurice, 1985). This is also the reason why these particular concerns allowed the French language legislation to be passed shortly after. In essence, the autonomy for immigration selection and unification authorized by the Canadian Quebec Accord provided Quebec with a significant opportunity to product its own nationalist social policy (Blad and Couton, 2009). Although Quebec embraces plurality among immigrants, it is still a territory that is persistent on protecting French language and culture. Despite the fact that the federal government’s multiculturalism policy was simply motivated by global economic integration, the development of Quebec’s intercultural policies are primarily inspired by a distinct national history and nationalistic intentions. Although immigration policy in Quebec is simply one of many social policies that display it’s strong nationalist stance, it also demonstrates how Quebec has continued to be successful in maintaining a
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