Not exactly agreeing, but this is actually a really common attitude, for anyone from another country trying to understand. Surprisingly few Anglos have a problem with it on a cultural level, and might be tired of hearing about it, more than anything.
I don’t know. Québec having 25% of Canada’s population, a GDP as good as the Scandinavian countries in Europe and also having green energy and green tech as one of its major source of revenue compared to oil in the west… With how the environment is going and how governments will globally have to phase out oil in the near future, I’d say Québec is pretty well positioned compared to the rest of Canada, with the exception of Ontario of course.
Plus it has as massive amount of minerals used in electric battery technology which has yet to be exploited.
It's been quite a while, but I recall back during the height of separatism there were rumblings about both the First Nations of the northern portions of Quebec and even Montreal that in the event that Quebec separated from Canada they'd want to separate in turn from Quebec. To which Quebec would of course go "but not like that!" And that could lead to quite a mess.
Frankly, what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander - if Quebec won out on the "countries can have bits decide to leave if they want to" argument then more power to those parts of Quebec that subsequently want out of there and maybe back into the rest of Canada again.
I’d hope the rest of Canada would have honoured it, but you just know one or more of the Anglo provinces would have turned it into a shitshow. I don’t think there’s any chance anyone else would leave in the aftermath, though. Even now the “separatist” movements in the West are just a thinly disguised vessel for imported MAGA.
And Quebec separatism wasn't its own particular flavour of pre-MAGA MAGA? I think Quebec would have done a fine job of turning it into a shitshow on its own.
And Quebec separatism wasn’t its own particular flavour of pre-MAGA MAGA?
No. It has had more of an affinity with the political left, and people in Quebec actually feel like they’re not part of Canada. Meanwhile, here, separating is a brand new idea with the same basic flavour as building a really big wall (just replace “Mexico” with “Ottawa”). Just 10 years ago it was on the same level of credibility as going back to serious monarchism.
It’s obviously a form of nationalism, but that’s not really what I was getting at.
It’s obviously a form of nationalism, but that’s not really what I was getting at.
Well, that's what I was getting at. MAGAism is at its heart a nationalist movement, an "our people are better than those people and we'll be better off keeping those people out!" Thing.
Oh, alright. I was trying to say that it’s just a literal, precise, probably traceable carbon copy of the US movement, and the Alberta separatism aspect has always just been an excuse. I don’t disagree that nationalism is bad, and I’m glad Quebec didn’t leave because that would be just another border to get in the way.
It was much more akin to Black liberation (and even had some ties with the Black Panthers back in the 70s) and Irish republicanism than with American right wing nationalism. I know it’s easy to group all nationalisms together and brand them with MAGA, but liberation movements often branded themselves with the “nationalist” label.
Neither of those provinces were anywhere near as being off the rails as they are today. It wouldn’t have been an easy time for the nation, Quebec, or any of the provinces, but we’d have got through it.
It wouldn’t surprise me that, by now, the Maritimes would at least be trying to hook up with Quebec or the US. I have no basis for that beyond the likelihood that they would be very isolated otherwise.
facepalm for whatever reason I had thought the timeframe was current as opposed to the last referendum.
I also get the feeling that the Maritimes would also boost off to join with Quebec or the US. My basis being(from a very long way off) their governments are hard right leaning, so probably US as opposed to Quebec.
I’m not sure about separatist movements in the West now, but they have been around for over 40 years. The primary concerns were lack of consideration at the national level, which isn’t a surprising outcome when about half the representatives come from two provinces. It doesn’t make their concerns any less valid.
Well they can separate, but like any other renter they need to leave it as least as well as they found it. Leave a forwarding address, too, in case we need to send along contents or mail or bills.
Add comment