Why Does Québec want to separate from Canada

The differences between Québec and the other Canadian provinces became apparent about 30 years ago. In 1982, Canada wrote a new constitution since, up to that point, the Canadian equivalent of a constitution consisted of The British North America Act, written in 1867, and its amendments. Nine out of ten Canadian provinces signed the ratification of this new constitution. To this day, Québec has refrained from signing this document.

The constitution did not appeal to the Québecers’ standards. Québec with a culture all its own, is very different from the other Canadian provinces. Québec’s Charter of the French Language proclaims that French is the official language of the province (contradicting Canada’s established bilingual policy from The British North America Act). Street signs, for example, are all in French. Instructors, servers, professional corporations all conduct business in French. Unlike the rest of Canada, the shared French history of Quebec’s population has resulted in a sense of camaraderie and patriotism, unique to the province.

Québec’s population is composed mostly of minorities ‚ French Canadians and indigenous cultures. This puts their goals at odds with the rest of Canada. However, Québec still uses the same currency as Canada and receives monetary support from the other Canadian provinces. A large percentage of Canada’s debt is attributed to Québec, and in the 2010 economic climate, succession would be difficult. In 1995, during the referendums to determine possible succession, minority groups and wealthy federalists made up the majority of the population that determined that Québec would remain a part of Canada.

There are varying degrees of separatism proposed by Québec’s government officials. Some lobby for a complete separation, while others would find a sovereignty partnership a better possibility. Québec would become its own country, but would maintain strong economic and political partnership with Canada. In 2000, Canada passed the Clarity Act, which enables the Canadian government to enter into negotiations with any province wanting to separate if it approved the ‘clarity, of the province’s referendum. Québec has yet to pose another referendum.