Quebec sovereignty movement: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:23, 13 February 2005

Revision as of 19:30, 13 February 2005

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===National===

There is a large semantic confusion, sometimes fostered by the Parti Quebecois itself, between the terms sovereignty, separatism, independentism. These terms are sometimes used interchangingly, but PQ supporters usually prefer the term "sovereingty", considered less radical and emotional than "independentism" (preferred by hard-liners), while "separatism" is usually considered pejorative. This ambiguity is further enhanced since the majority of Quebec's media, both written (with the notable exceptions of the [[CHOI-FM]] [[Libertarian]] [[Quebec cityCity]] radio station and the [[La Presse]] and the [[Montreal Gazette]] newspapers, sometimes support the PQ's left to center-of left politics, but not the party itselfor its sovereignist goal. The separatist movement draws however above the Left and Right spectrum, a sizeable minority of more [[conservative]] Quebeckers supporting the PQ's political agenda because of the sovereignty issue, despite reservations about its [[social-democratic]]/[[socialist]] political agenda.

Although one cannot generalize, natural allies of sovereignty tend to be found within the Left: [[labour unions]], the French-speaking [[art|artistic community]], students (non-working members of the younger generations, as compared to Generation-Xers), the media, government employees, the Catholic clergy, [[anti-globalization]] supporters and the academic [[political left]]. Opponents are often found in the [[economics|economic community]], ethnic minorities, the older generations, working class [[Generation-X]]ers, non-French speakers ("allophones[[Allophones]]"), Jews[[Jew]]s, French-language Protestants[[Protestant]]s, Libertarians, the non-nationalist [[right-wing politics|political right]], and critics of [[keynesianism]], [[statism]] and big government intervention in general.

It must be noted, however, that Quebec political standards usually range from the centre-of-left to the left compared to American or even European standards. Right and Left must thus be interpreted within the provincial context; compared to the American continuum, Liberal Party politics generally coincide with the [[DemocraticUnited States Democrat Party|Democrat Party]] while PQ politics are more in tone with the [[Green party]]: there is no mass-equivalent of American conservatism in Quebec's French political culture, due notably to strong government interventionnism and keynesianism shared by all parties since the 1960s (the so-called "Quebec Consensus" since the [[Revolution Tranquille]], and the province's [[Roman Catholic]] and rather homogenous ethnic heritage.

There are, of course, quite a few exceptions. Notable examples include: the semi-[[conservative]] (by Quebec standards) but [[Nationalist]] [[Action Démocratique du Québec]] supporting the "Yes" side in [[1995 Quebec referendum|1995]] (their stance on the issue is now vague), the [[Progressive_Conservative_Party_of_Canada|Progressive-Conservative Party of Canada]] building links with the sovereigntists in the 1980s and well-known federalist artists [[Jean-Louis Roux]] (an actor, once destined to become the representative of [[Queen Elizabeth II]] as [[Lieutenant-Governor]] of Quebec, a plan foiled by [[Jean-Louis Roux|controversy]]) and [[René-Daniel Dubois]] (playwright and harsh critic of sovereignty, although self-proclaimed neutral).

The option fails at gathering substantial support support among Quebec[[Anglo anglophonesQuebecers]] and anglicized [[allophones]]. About 60% of francophones of all ethnic origins voted "Yes" in 1995, and with the exception of some support from the [[Haiti|Haitian]], [[Latino]], and [[Arabia|Arabic]] communities, most non-francophones massively voted No (see [[Demolinguistics of Quebec]]). Consequently, some critics accuse the sovereignty movement of essentially being a chauvinistic, ethnic issue, a position refuted by the PQ who considers its project all-encompassive. [[Jacques Parizeau]]'s comments after the 1995 referendum ("We lost because of money and the ethnic vote"), considered racist by most local and international commentators, gave fuel to this controversy.

[[Image:Bouchard_and_Chirac_in_Paris.jpg|thumb|right|175px|[[Lucien Bouchard]] is welcomed by [[Jacques Chirac]] in [[Paris]].]]