Canadian Separatism

Report Outline
Rise of Separatist Sentiment in Canada
Issues Underlying Separatist Movement
Canadian Dualism and French Nationalism
Efforts to Moderate Forces of Disunion

Rise of Separatist Sentiment in Canada

As Canada Approaches the centennial of national confederation, many of the country's public officials and press commentators are of opinion that the dominion faces one of the most serious crises of its 97-year history. The trouble is brewing out of long-standing discord between English Canadians and French Canadians, the latter constituting a minority in the country as a whole but a large majority in the province of Quebec. Current manifestations of the disharmony range from a bitter controversy over the design of a new Canadian flag to disagreements about federal-provincial relationships in the tax and economic spheres.

Emotions stirred by these differences are so strong that some inhabitants of Quebec favor separating that province from the nine other Canadian provinces and establishing it as an autonomous state. Although those urging separation make up only a small fraction of Quebec's French-speaking population, a far more numerous group favors increased autonomy for Quebec within the confederation. And it is feared that if the people of Quebec are not allowed to become “masters in their own house,” the sentiment for complete separation will spread rapidly.

Concern Over Terrorist Outbreaks in Quebec

The separatist feeling and the intransigence of Quebec's people on their differences with the federal government and with the other provinces have contributed to a stiffening of attitudes in the English-speaking provinces toward the concessions demanded by Quebec. A Canadian journalist commented last spring that “It will come as a surprise to nationalistic French Canadians, but Prime Minister [Lester B.] Pearson is beginning to lose considerable support in rural Manitoba because he is ‘soft’ on Quebec.”