The Quebec National Question
Encyclopedia
The National Question is an expression referring to the discussion about the future status of Quebec
within Canada
, taking into consideration issues of autonomy
, sovereignty
, and independence
.
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
within Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, taking into consideration issues of autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
, sovereignty
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
, and independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
.
Various political positions in answer to the national question
- Quebec sovereigntyQuebec sovereignty movementThe Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
- Independence with an economic union with CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. See also: Sovereignty-association. - Independence without an economic union with Canada.
- Independence with an economic union with Canada
- Quebec federalismQuebec federalist ideologyQuebec federalist ideology revolves around the concept of Quebec remaining within Canada, in opposition to the desires of Quebec sovereigntists and proponents of Quebec independence....
- Further autonomy within the Canadian federationPolitics of CanadaThe politics of Canada function within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is head of state...
, along with national recognition as a distinct societyDistinct societyDistinct society is a political term especially used during constitutional debate in Canada, in the second half of the 1980s and in the early 1990s, and present in the two failed constitutional amendments, the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord...
. - Asymmetrical federalism.
- Status quoStatus quoStatu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
.
- Further autonomy within the Canadian federation
Nationalism
- État QuébécoisÉtat québécoisThe French term ' literally means "the Quebec State". Here "State" refers to public authority, or the state apparatus, as in "state-owned enterprise, Crown corporation"...
- Commission on the Political and Constitutional Future of QuebecCommission on the Political and Constitutional Future of QuebecThe Commission on the Political and Constitutional Future of Quebec, also known as the Bélanger-Campeau Commission, was established by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, at the initiative of Premier Robert Bourassa, after the demise of the Meech Lake Accord...
- Robert Bourassa's speech on the end of the Meech Lake Accord
- Quebec nationalismQuebec nationalismQuebec nationalism is a nationalist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec .-1534–1774:Canada was first a french colony. Jacques Cartier claimed it for France in 1534, and permanent French settlement began in 1608. It was part of New France, which constituted all French colonies in North America...
Federalism
- Meech Lake AccordMeech Lake AccordThe Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
- Charlottetown AccordCharlottetown AccordThe Charlottetown Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October 26 of that year, and was defeated.-Background:...
- Distinct societyDistinct societyDistinct society is a political term especially used during constitutional debate in Canada, in the second half of the 1980s and in the early 1990s, and present in the two failed constitutional amendments, the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord...
- Quebec federalist ideologyQuebec federalist ideologyQuebec federalist ideology revolves around the concept of Quebec remaining within Canada, in opposition to the desires of Quebec sovereigntists and proponents of Quebec independence....