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I've said this a gazillion times before - separatism is in the doldrums right now but it will probably never be completely dead. If you understand the sentiment and everything else that is behind it, it's obvious why it's always been a constant in our history and probably always will be.
I know lots of young people through my kids and their friends and their instructors (at their activities). I live in the most federalist part of Quebec outside of anglo enclaves in western Montreal.
Among young people here I don't sense any animosity towards Canada at all like there might have been 20-30-40 years ago. But they're not pro-Canada rah-rah-rah like many young people are just across the river in Ottawa can be. They don't generally paint their faces red and wear maple leaf headgear and a flag as a cape on Canada Day, for example.
Their primary loyalty and headspace is still Quebec, and these are kids who often have parents who work in Ontario and go to Ottawa all the time. I imagine that you can multiply what I just said a couple of times for other areas of Quebec that are not joined at the hip with Ontario like we are.
People under 40 however are much more Canada oriented with friends and family of different cultures living across the city, province, and country. They reject the "pure laine" mentality of the old guard. Quebec identity will remain strong but that's totally different than wanting to leave.
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Whatever the "pure laine" mentality actually was, it means nothing to young people today it is true.
I know a bunch of people who are Portuguese, for example, who grew up in Gatineau, but who have cousins in places like Toronto. Yeah, the second generation in both cities are all Canadian and would all describe themselves as such, but on another level it's almost like they grew up and were socialized in different countries.
For Sandra da Silva from Toronto, going out with her cousin Maria da Silva and her friends in Gatineau isn't likely to be as seamless as it is going out with her cousin Patricia da Silva in Ottawa.
Of course, this doesn't (necessarily) have anything to do with separatism.
The recent election in the USA has proven to me vast demographics can be brainwashed into believing almost anything, with current political scenario having the Liberals and the separatist parties neck and neck the threat of separatism while not prevalent at the moment could come into play in the next provincial election.,making the issue at the moment dormant but not dead.
With Quebec having a mere 8% anglo demographic if Quebecs equivalent of Donald Trump started pumping the media with separatist rhetoric there would be no one to stop the impending potential separation.
Make Quebec great again?
The separatist making a comeback at the next federal election is the least of our worries. I am more worried about the extreme right jumping on the bandwagon and saying make Canada great again.
The separatist making a comeback at the next federal election is the least of our worries. I am more worried about the extreme right jumping on the bandwagon and saying make Canada great again.
I dont think the separatist are too concerned about the federal elections its the provincial election that may bring about another separatist government and the possibility of another referendum on separation.
I dont think the separatist are too concerned about the federal elections its the provincial election that may bring about another separatist government and the possibility of another referendum on separation.
Yes sorry you're are correct, provincial election. I don't really see that happening so quickly though. I am more worried the right will be inspired by things taking place elsewhere.
Yes sorry you're are correct, provincial election. I don't really see that happening so quickly though. I am more worried the right will be inspired by things taking place elsewhere.
I think you're right. A resurgence of the separatist movement is always possible, but it looks like it would be in the medium to long term at best, if it happens.
The "angry right" taking root in Canada as it has in many western countries is more of a short-term possibility.
I think you're right. A resurgence of the separatist movement is always possible, but it looks like it would be in the medium to long term at best, if it happens.
The "angry right" taking root in Canada as it has in many western countries is more of a short-term possibility.
Although... life is full of surprises.
I see a right-wing populist surge in Canada as unlikely for a few reasons:
1. Canadian political parties (excluding the BQ/PQ, obviously) need to compete for votes across the country, including in Quebec. It's hard to come up with one populist narrative that appeals to both Anglo-Canadians and Quebecers.
2. The differences in living standards in Canada are far smaller than in places like the US and UK, in large part because of government efforts (equalization payments, generous welfare spending).
3. Canada actually has a social safety net. In the US, if you lose your job or suffer a health crisis, you can spiral into bankruptcy because of the horrific health care system. The uncertainty that creates, especially when compounded by the declining living standards in much of the white hinterland, is a big factor behind the rise of right-wing populism.
4. Critically, Canada doesn't have a huge financial-services sector, and what it does have is bound in by heavy regulation. This means you don't have the obscene concentration of wealth and power that you get in NYC and London. Boxing in the finance sector is a major reason that income and wealth inequality in Canada remains relatively low compared to its Anglo trading partners.
5. Unlike the US, where white supremacy has been a defining principle of the national identity since the country's founding, Canada has a much more fluid concept of national identity (in part related to the uneasy marriage of French and English.)
6. Also, Canada's focus on skills-based immigration means that new immigrants are more likely to adapt and assimilate than is the case in the US, where you have a much greater proportion of uneducated immigrants. And Canada doesn't really have a problem with undocumented migrants, unlike the US or Europe.
I see a right-wing populist surge in Canada as unlikely for a few reasons:
1. Canadian political parties (excluding the BQ/PQ, obviously) need to compete for votes across the country, including in Quebec. It's hard to come up with one populist narrative that appeals to both Anglo-Canadians and Quebecers.
2. The differences in living standards in Canada are far smaller than in places like the US and UK, in large part because of government efforts (equalization payments, generous welfare spending).
3. Canada actually has a social safety net. In the US, if you lose your job or suffer a health crisis, you can spiral into bankruptcy because of the horrific health care system. The uncertainty that creates, especially when compounded by the declining living standards in much of the white hinterland, is a big factor behind the rise of right-wing populism.
4. Critically, Canada doesn't have a huge financial-services sector, and what it does have is bound in by heavy regulation. This means you don't have the obscene concentration of wealth and power that you get in NYC and London. Boxing in the finance sector is a major reason that income and wealth inequality in Canada remains relatively low compared to its Anglo trading partners.
5. Unlike the US, where white supremacy has been a defining principle of the national identity since the country's founding, Canada has a much more fluid concept of national identity (in part related to the uneasy marriage of French and English.)
6. Also, Canada's focus on skills-based immigration means that new immigrants are more likely to adapt and assimilate than is the case in the US, where you have a much greater proportion of uneducated immigrants. And Canada doesn't really have a problem with undocumented migrants, unlike the US or Europe.
You raise some good points but stranger things have happened. Several countries in northern Europe were way more milk and honey when it comes to diversity and immigration. Things can go soue really fast - though I am not saying this will happen to us.
Also, at the next to last election Stephen Harper showed you can win a majority government in Canada without the support of Quebec.
Among young people here I don't sense any animosity towards Canada at all like there might have been 20-30-40 years ago. But they're not pro-Canada rah-rah-rah like many young people are just across the river in Ottawa can be. They don't generally paint their faces red and wear maple leaf headgear and a flag as a cape on Canada Day, for example.
Their primary loyalty and headspace is still Quebec, and these are kids who often have parents who work in Ontario and go to Ottawa all the time. I imagine that you can multiply what I just said a couple of times for other areas of Quebec that are not joined at the hip with Ontario like we are.
I grew up in Gatineau, my mother's always worked in Ottawa, I studied at the University of Ottawa, I speak fluent English, and I now live in Winnipeg. Yet my primary loyalty is definitely with Quebec, and I only view Quebec as truly "home". It's true that the rest of Canada -- including where I now live -- doesn't feel exceptionally foreign to me, but it'd be the same with anywhere in the Western world.
Young people (the millenial generation and those who are today kids and teenagers) are more multicultural and cosmopolitan than even my generation, but you're quite right that it doesn't mean that any Quebec specificity is doomed to disappear. They approach things from a viewpoint that places them inside the Quebec cultural sphere and isn't necessarily common with the rest of Canada.
Even my friends who consciously reject Quebec's cultural sphere and try to place themselves only in the anglo North American cultural sphere, which they see as superior, often still have something uniquely "Quebec" about them. It's quite interesting really.
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