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The Economy and Support for Quebec Sovereignty
[edit]Introduction
[edit]What is the role of Quebec's economy on its support for sovereignty? This question has baffled researchers for many years. there are different theories on how much the economy affects attitudes on sovereignty. Here are some of the opinions on what the economy's role is in this situation.
Background
[edit]Canada had no formal constitution until 1982, but that constitution was not made with Quebec’s consent. In fact, only Ontario and New Brunswick agreed to it. This left Quebec, and many other provinces, with a feeling that they were going to lose their provincial rights to a stronger federal government. To fix this problem, new Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the provinces of Canada tried to reach a settlement on a Canadian constitution twice in 1987 and 1992.[1] The first settlement, called the Meech Lake Accord, stated that Quebec would be a “distinct society within Canada.” The accord, however, was not ratified by all the provinces and failed to make the three year deadline on June 23, 1990. After the failure of the Meech Lake Accord in 1990, a similar agreement called the Charlottetown Accord, reached in 1992, went to a referendum and was turned down 55 percent to 45 percent.[2] Quebec itself voted no, even though it was given concessions in the accord. Without a settlement to accommodate Quebec, the province started to push for independence. Even though Quebec has many symbols that show it is a distinct society such as a flag, a National Assembly, and its own national holiday, there still was a push for independence. This paper will examine the role of economic factors on this push for independence.[3]
Economic Issues or Enthusiasm for Sovereignty
[edit]There are varying opinions on whether or not unemployment and inflation have had any impact at all on the good fortunes of political parties that support sovereignty in Quebec since 1970. Some claim that the economic factors play a small role in sovereignty support in Quebec. For example, Paul Howe in his article “Rationality and Sovereignty Support in Quebec” uses data from a survey of French speaking residents of Quebec to gauge their rationality in their opinions on sovereignty in Quebec. By using this information, Howe makes the claim that it is the people’s enthusiasm for sovereignty that leads them to believe that the economic conditions in Quebec will improve if it was an independent country.[4]
Unemployment and Economic Inequality
[edit]There are also some articles that show that unemployment, in particular, leads to the feeling of income inequality throughout Quebec. Galen J. Countryman’s article “The Effect of Unemployment Insurance Benefits on Income Inequality in the Canadian Provinces” shows that Quebec had higher unemployment rates than the Canadian average in 1989, 1992, and, 1996.[5] These years are significant because they coincided with the years that Canada tried to negotiate a new agreement with Quebec that would keep it from leaving the confederation. With unemployment rates above nine percent each year, Quebec’s economy was lagging behind the rest of Canada. The negotiations failed in 1992 and Quebec’s sovereignty referendum in 1995 came within one percent of succeeding. This turbulent time period in which Quebec almost separated with Canada was one which Quebec was experiencing high unemployment.
Demographic Factors
[edit]Quebec had a higher unemployment rate than the Canadian average in the early 1990’s. Some researchers argue that the push for independence is a result of economic exploitation that is the result of the higher unemployment rates in Quebec. However, the authors of the article “Constituency Homogeneity, Economic Risk and Support for Quebec Sovereignty” state that people who are not doing well economically tend not to vote for independence.[6] This article, however, only looks at three years out of the last forty to support this claim. It also makes the claim that, even though economic risk is a limiting factor in support for sovereignty, it states that young people are usually more risky when it comes to economic uncertainty. This is a major factor that should be considered because according to the article “Youth Unemployment in Canada 1976-1998,” 8.3 percent of Canadians between the ages of 20 to 24 were unemployed. This was higher than any year since 1976.[7] If there was a large population of unemployed youth in Quebec, they may have been supporters of independence.
- ^ Barnes, Thomas (1995). "There'll Always Be a Canada and a Canadian Constitutional Crisis". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Scientists. 538: 27–39. doi:10.1177/0002716295538000004.
- ^ Barnes, Thomas (March 1995). "There'll Always Be a Canada and a Canadian Constitutional Crises". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 538: 27–39. doi:10.1177/0002716295538000004.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Ibid.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Howe, Paul (March 1998). "Rationality and Sovereignty Support in Quebec". Canadian Journal of Political Science. 31 (1): 31–59. doi:10.1017/S0008423900008672. JSTOR 3232805. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Countryman, Galen (December 1999). "The Effect of Unemployment Benefits on Income Inequality in the Canadian Provinces". Canadian Public Policy. 25 (4): 539–556. doi:10.2307/3552427. JSTOR 3552427. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Duchesne, Erick (1999). "Constituency and Homogeneity, Economic Risk and Support for Quebec Sovereignty". Canadian Journal of Political Science. 25 (4): 643–656.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Gunderson, Morley (2000). "Youth Unemployment in Canada". Canadian Public Policy. 26: S85–S100. doi:10.2307/3552504. JSTOR 3552504.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)