French-Canadian Nationalism

Question 1

Define: FEDERALISTS

Answer 1

Federalists are people who support a federal system of government. In Canada, federalists oppose the notion of Quebec sovereignty and believe that Quebec should remain a Canadian province.

Question 2

Define: SOVEREIGNISTS

Answer 2

Sovereignists are people who support the idea of Quebec’s becoming an independent nation-state in which people control their own destiny.

Question 3

Explain the 1995 Quebec Referendum. Why is it important?

Answer 3

In 1995, a vote was taken in Quebec, asking citizens whether they thought Quebec should separate from Canada and become their own country. Nearly every eligible voter in Quebec went out and voted. Almost half of the population (49.42%) of Quebec wanted to separate. They were known as sovereignists because they want Quebec to be a sovereign nation. The remaining population (50.5%) are known as federalists because they favor Quebec remaining under the federal government. The people of Quebec even have a sovereignist party, the Parti Quebecois (PQ). So, the Parti Quebecois and Quebec sovereignists both consider their Francophone nationalism more important than their Canadian nationalism. These are contending nationalist loyalties that are unreconciled.

The 1995 Quebec Referendum is important because it questions