At one point Quebec was considered to be one of the most significant independence movement in the world. And yet we hear little about it today. So, can we still expect to see an independent Quebec?
Yes. I honestly don't know about the viability of Canada over the next century. Widely disparate regions with the bulk of our population living near the American border. Living on the prairies I think I have far more in common with someone in North Dakota or Kansas than I do with someone in Vancouver or Montreal. I'm going to get some hate for this but it's something I think about quite a bit. Quebec is an independent nation already but why leave when you can be over represented in Parliament and get billions in equalization payments. I just don't think this can last.
A good article remembering Quebec license plates state the poem "je me souviens" reminding the Quebecois of the French roots (as apart from English rule)
I'm a Quebecers and I've been following you for a couple months now. Love your videos. But when I saw this video in my RUclips suggestions, I told myself "no way he talked about us, this is an opportunity for me to see just how accurate and researched this guy is". Listen, I'm a super politicized citizen of Québec and buddy, you nailed it. This video is super accurate from start to finish. You used points, arguments and data that are quite niche and that even most Anglo-Canadians aren't familiar with. You're the real deal. I absolutely trust you now. Not that I didn't, but this video was like a test of your quality to me. You did not disappoint. Bravo
Thank you so much! That’s incredibly kind of you to say. I’ve actually been really surprised and pleased by the reaction to this video. It is such an amazingly interesting subject. It really did shape my interest in International Relations. I was keen to get a sense of how the debate has evolved since the 1990s. But I know how difficult it can be to cover, especially as an Anglophone Brit! I am just glad you felt I did the subject justice. Thank you so much once again.
@@JamesKerLindsay I was actually an elected member of the highest committee of the Parti Québécois (the "Conseil National"), so yeah take it from me, quality work right here. Probably the RUclipsr I trust the most now. Please continue, cheers mate!
How does Qiuebec handle immigration? As a tourist, I loved the unique culture in Quebec. An equisite mixture of Americs and Europe.. In Ontario, Toronto I wasnt sute if I was not in the USA.
Note: While independence is a contentious topic, quite a lot of federalists have no great attachment towards Canada, and will flip sides rather easily. In (I think) 2006, independance polled at 60% following the scandale des commandites, wherein it was revealed that the No camp had made many illegal spendings, and had employed otherwise shady tactics.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I try to be as balanced as I can, but it is always really great to hear from those close to the situations that I cover. And really interesting point about the federalists.
As a francophone (if thoroughly bilingual) Canadian born and raised in Ontario, having lived in Quebec many years, and as a passionate student of history and especially Canadian history for the entire 50-odd years of my adult life, I can only testify along with many others here that you really, really, did your homework and you have grasped the situation, past and present, as well or better than . . . well, than many of my own compatriots of both languages. This is only the third of your videos I have watched (I'm now catching up on your production) and will be following you closely. Kudos!
I find americans know very little of hteir actual history, and canadians know even less. Maybe it just wasn't violent enough for them I don't know, but REGIONAL history is virtualy never brought up.
Thanks. Interesting. Yes, this has done parallels with Scotland and the U.K. Many English take the view that if they don’t like it they should leave, and get on with it. It’s sort of positive and negative. Positive that they respect the rights of Scots to go their own way, but negative as it shows that separatist nationalism can often have a deeper effect than people realise. You might get to a situation where you don’t want independence any longer, but in getting to that point they have alienated others in the union. As I said, Quebec offers so many interesting and important insights.
I have watched pretty much all videos of JJ Mc About Quebec. The guy is probably insane. In some video his comments are accurate. In some others, he trashes and lies throught his teeths. There is a significant amout of english candians that have nothing but despising views of quebec and in hour country, it's remarcably accepted to publicaly insul the french speaking population.
@@MONFLYINGSAUCER as a bilingual Canadian from Ontario, I agree. He seems to think Canada should not be a bilingual country because having bilingual prime ministers makes people from almost 100% english speaking provinces never get elected. That is the issue of the western provinces, not the Quebecois!
@@merenranemtyemsaf7874 One concern that he seems to have, and I assume is wide spread in english Canada is that mandatory bilingality for the PM results in an overrepresentation of quebecers as PM. I beleive indeed that this missreprensentation is a problem, only 1/4 PM should come from Quebec, but I have no idea how to adjust this. He seems to not understand that, without this requirement, Québec would have separated. The reason is it would have prevented quebecers such as Trudeau and Chrétien to convinve just enought francophones to vote to stay in Canada.
As a Quebecman, all I can say mister Ker-Lyndsay, is that you are quite accurate. By the way, our former prime minister Jacques Parizeau has also studied at the London School of Economics. Thank you for this report. One of the reasons why the support for independance has dropped is that with massive immigration the federalists parties get more voters, voters that are for Canada first.
More likely you haven't got any good reasons to leave. The best excuse I've ever heard was you think in Quebec you'd be better off without Canada, but it just goes to show the lack of a good reason and lack of reasoning most of you cement head separatists have. More likely crying wolf whenever you want more Federal funding.
It's strange to watch this from the perspective of a French Canadian, especially since every time I have heard an English speaker talk about Quebec, I automatically assume they're going to attack us. It's gotten to the point where I'm slowly beginning to take it personally. This may seem a little "overboard," but as a 15-year-old, it started to make me dislike certain people and places in the country. I don't desire it, but the level of verbal abuse we get from those people and places has made me see them as enemies rather than allies. When I first clicked on this video, I was afraid, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I was shocked to see someone truly cover this while remaining neutral. Thank you for making this and not identifying us as racists, even though we are stereotyped as such. I had to add that last part because it makes me feel like absolute garbage when people believe I am racist and a jerk because of where I was born and the language I speak. Once more, thank you. And, as a side note, I am not attempting to generalize anyone, and I apologize if I upset you. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section; I will read them all. After all, there are two sides to every story, and if this helps me comprehend your viewpoints and feelings, I will gratefully acknowledge it.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I look at independence movements and so I do naturally have a degree of sympathy for peoples who want to choose their own path. It may not always be the right thing for them, but I do believe that people should have the right to choose. And I find the case of Quebec so very interesting. I remember how big an issue it was at the start of the 1990s, and yet it seems relatively quiet these days, at least as compared to Catalonia and Scotland. I had wanted to take a look at it for ages. I am just glad that you felt that I did the subject justice and tackled it fairly. And you certainly didn't offend me. In fact a number of commentators have raised the same point, which makes me such that there is clearly a way that Anglophones approach the subject. (Ironically, and as an aside, the week before I did this video, I looked at the Anglophone crisis in Francophone Cameroon. Not really a mirror image, of course, but there was an interesting symmetry.)
Quebec has made some pretty big enemies, especially in the west. The abuse is not warranted, but even as a quebequois I can understand why some western provinces dislike us. Mainly all the money they gave to quebec, quebec's attempt to stop Alberta's economy growth. The fact that Quebec is in terms of election more important than all of the western provinces even tough we are less people in QC we get more elected officials.
The independance problem has pretty much solved itself . The Federal politicians fall all over themselves to please Quebec every whimper while turning their backs on the morals and integrity of the rest of the county . You can,t blame them for being anti Quebec . Many anglo Quebecers fought and died in wars and settied many parts of Quebec and then were stripped of basic human rights .
*WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER. MEABE ITS POSSIBLE TO RETARD THE INEVITABLE. BUT YOU CANT KILL AN IDEA* ! *VIVE LE QUÉBEC FORT ET LIBRE MES FRÈRES ET SOEURS* !
@@mat3714 l'Indépendance sera toujours nécessaire tant et aussi longtemps que les Québécois seront une nation distincte du reste du Canada (donc sera toujours d'actualité) Vive le Québec libre 💙⚜️
Quebecer here, Really amazing video James. Well thought-out and it explained really well the political history of Quebec. I would like to add some interesting points about the current situation in Quebec, as I currently live here and understands the current sentiment of the population. - The Clarity act of 1998 has probably changed the way for political parties in Quebec to gain more autonomy. The CAQ leader, François Legault, has said that he was tired of the independence movement for every election, while still wanting the province to gain more autonomy from the federal governement bit by bit, which is what is happening right now. I think that probably a lot of quebecers now see the referendum has an impossible attempt, but nevertheless, the idea of a more autonomous Quebec has never faded and is still really strong. - When PM Stephen Harper declared that "Quebec is a nation", it was kind of a hollow gift given to Quebec during elections as a PR stunt because it didn't changed anything legally. But now, Quebec government has decided to take this "nation" identity really seriously and has decided to declare to Ottawa that it can change its constitution on its own without federal intervention, which is a pretty big thing happening right now. It was also approved unanimously in Quebec parliament. - While Quebec's core demographics will change over years with immigration, I don't think its cultural identity and political desire for autonomy will be discouraged by newcomers. The main reason is this : Quebec's approach to immigration is interculturalism while the rest of Canada (ROC) is multiculturalism. This is extremely important to understand how Quebec still feels apart from the rest because it is welcoming for anyone who wants to live in the province, as long as they learn and live within the "Culture Québécoise". The multiculturalism of the ROC doesn't explicitely wants people to integrate the culture of Canada and they can live within their own cultural and religious group, as long as they abide to the law. Quebec is way more upfront in wanting foreigners to integrate within the already existing québécois culture simply because we think our situation as a fragile one in America. In Quebec we talk a lot about being "A french sea surrounded by an english ocean" because of Canada and USA and so this intercultural system has been put in place for decades now. These Inter/Multi immigration policies is also again separating Quebec's and Canada's core values and over the years, it could well again be challenged by Ottawa and Quebec could still be really angry if they try to intervene.
Thank you so much Alexandre! That is incredibly interesting and helpful. It is always brilliant to get views from on the ground. I really appreciate the insights, as I’m sure others reading through the comments on this video will. (This is one of the things I really love about doing the channel. I get these wonderful contributions that really help to clarify things.) The thoughts on immigration were really fascinating. It will be so interesting to see how this all plays out. Will the Quebecois model of interculturalism really be able to add an alternative identity layer on new arrivals that maintains a sense of separateness within Canada or even keeps the possibility of independence in play.
Hi Paradis, I am a Couture descendant from the founders of Quebec. My line ended up in Alberta (the east populated the west) and I ended up moving to Quebec City not that long ago. I have a unique perspective as a French-Canadian descendant from the west. I was never for separation because I viewed it as Canada's origin. I guess its more of an identity crisis I am experiencing. I love Quebec because it's our heritage and origin. From Normandy to Canada, New France. We spoke French in Alberta with Quebec accents. I have a small accent I'm told from Quebecers. I agree with your comment.
Accurate....well when it comes to comparing areas of countries Mr Lindsay is NOT accurate AT ALL. Check what I had to write to Mr. Lindsay. Mr. Lindsay listen to yourself in minute 2:30. You say that Quebec is roughly the same size as Ukraine. WRONG. You confuse the meter ( International System) and the imperial English system of measurements (mile in this case). The area of Quebec is 1,542,056 km2 OR (595,391 sq mi). The area of Ukraine is 603,628 km2 OR (233,062 sq mi). For your information a mile is NOT a kilometer. You got confused 😕. Quebec is 2.5 ( two and a half) the size of Ukraine. Your statement is WRONG. If you do not believe me I suggest that you check Wikipedia yourself.
So I guess the ultimate long term goal is essentially a kind of non sovereign country (I believe is the term) such as Wales which falls under the umbrella of a sovereign country. I wonder if Wales would ever try for their own national sports teams as well...
I’m surprised that the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord were not mentioned. The failure of these two was credited with re-igniting the separatist movement in Quebec. The failure of these two led Lucien Bouchard to quit the federal cabinet and start a federalist Independence Party, the Bloc Québécois. As a Canadian who lived through the two referenda, I feel that the Meech Lake Accord is an important part of the story.
I would have also mentioned the cause of those failed agreements : the 1982 amendment to the constitution (which was the "change" that PET promised against a "no" vote in 1980l, and the refusal by Québec to sign it (and the fact that to this day Québec hasn't signed the amended constitution of Canada). However there is an infinite amount of stuff that could be said about this issue. Overall the video is still quite good.
@@audetnicolas still a good video but the re-opening of the constitution for Quebec meant that it had been opened for other groups as well. Elijah Harper stopped Manitoba from ratifying but his issue was First Nations, not Quebec.
@@randalltilander6684 That is technically true about Elijah Harper but at the time including aboriginals wasn't the goal. It was intended to persuade the government of Quebec to symbolically endorse the 1982 constitutional amendments by providing for some decentralization, distinct society, etc. Charlottetown showed that there was no public support for such an arrangement. Quebec's minimum demands go beyond what Canada is wiling to offer. The final result is the same: Québec still hasn't ratified the latest version of the Constitution. It would be disingenuous to pretend that it is because of aboriginal issues.
@@audetnicolas it is not just technically true but practically true as well. While Mulroney and Bourassa may have had it as their goal to get Quebec’s signature on the constitution, they were two of eleven premiers. Beyond the premiers, there were others, like the First Nations, who needed to be onside because they had the power to block ratification. It was a back room deal. From my part of the country, the problem was the vagueness of the “distinct society clause”. Our leaders refused to define the term. Mulroney told us to trust him but he had all of the trust-worthiness of a used-car salesman. That’s why the other provinces turned against Meech Lake.
@@randalltilander6684 From Quebec, the problem with "distinct society" was also the vagueness. So in your opinion, the reason explaining the failure to get Québec back in the Constitution is aboriginal issues, not the failure to reach some sort of "overlap" between what Québec wants and what the ROC is willing to agree to. I think that this is nonsense.
I used to have a coworker who was from Quebec who had narrated me the story and the reasoning why they wanted the independence from rest of Canada. At that time, I did not support him but now I would support any such movement.
I respect Canadian citizens who go for referendum for Khali.... . They have Canadian citizenship but then also they can vote for other countries internal matter. They have showed us what to do.We Indians should learn from them and conduct a referendum for independence of Quebec in India. If Canadians can vote for referendum, for part of India, why we Indians can't vote for referendum for Quebec. Actually all voting for khalistan are Canadians citizens.
Good video. The parti quebecois is now at the #1 spot in quebec polls. We are now talking about independence everyday in the media for the past 2 weeks.
Thanks so much. That’s really interesting. I had in fact seen a spike in views on this video recently and wondered what was behind it. I should perhaps take another look at the issue.
That will never happen considering the amount of immigrants the federal government allowed to come to Quebec. The passing of bill 96 shows how many people opposed the implementation of the said bill, more to the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada.
@@Coxirt Supporting has nothing to do with fix.... As a free individual from the free world who has an independent opinion can do whatever one like.....
If Quebec didn’t want to sell separate before it certainly should now. As a Canadian, I am embarrassed and saddened by the actions of my government was regard to the Ukraine war. They do not represent me. If most of Canadians were not propagandized to the actual hilt by a media that has sold out, and I do mean sold out and by a government media outlet, the CBC as well, most of them would see that this is horrific. Also, as a Canadian, I’m scared because. i’m a person living in disability and yes, perhaps introducing a Nazi and calling him a great Canadian was done by accident but really I don’t think so. There is no way they couldn’t have known. He was a Nazi and Christia Freeland deputy Prime Minister and finance minister has a grandfather who is a Nazi Ukraine, so yes, I’m scared and yes if I were in Quebec, I would be voting to separate immediately. Am I also ashamed terribly ashamed. Thank God for Russia. They’re the charge to save the world.
@@Blade-ny9ui What will I get or not that's not ur lookout. I can extend my support whoever I wish. U English speaking have dominated the French speaking for years. Its time for them to rise up against the oppression.
The autonomist approach of the CAQ actually strenghtened Quebec nationalist expression, with most political parties in Quebec aligned on a variety of issues. That stance challenges Canada on key issues. If Canada would buck on these issues and impose restrictions on Quebec autonomy, no doubt that the discontentement could feed into the independance movement.
@@francoislatreille6068 never gonna happen, even he wont, he says repeatedly that he wants to prioritize the economy, seperating or even talks of a referendum is economic suicide, quebec has still yet to fully recover from the 1980 referendum.
@@alainouellet7794 t’as du manquer le bout ou Trudeau père fait tout en son pouvoir pour détruire l’économie du Québec, merci à nos fédérastes colonisés de services.😘
Maybe, but Montreal is more English speaking than ever and that has happened literally in the course of two years or so. Now if you go to the Plateau, you hear English 80% of the time, whereas it was a French stronghold only 3 years ago. All "cool" parts of the city like Little Italy are being taken over by recent immigrants from Toronto and Vancouver who fled their provinces in the times of pandemic for the cheaper Montreal where, having more money than the locals, they bought a lot of properties (and rented even more). To their credit, it looks like they're making more effort to use French in shops and cafes than monolingual English Montrealers
Canada just has to wait a little longer and that's it. Netflix, Amazon Prime and RUclips / Tiktok have been Americanizing the youth very fast. If they wait for one more generation, there will be no local sentiment to speak of.
I'm a Canadian who speak French as main language. At 69 years old I voted twice against the independence. Today I regret it and if there was a referendum to be hold, it's sure that I would vote for the separation from Canada. You have your country where we are just another minority, thanks to Trudeau father and son. That was not the deal. Also, the federation doesn't work as the money is in Ottawa and the needs are in Québec. Nothing against Canadian that are friends and would remain as.
1837-1838 Rebellion was not about French against English, it's a common mistake to think so. It was about having a real democracy, and the chief and chosen president of the Lower Canada republic was Robert Nelson, an english speaker of Quebec! In fact, a minor rebellion happened in Upper Canada (Ontario) too, where there was a big majority of english speakers. Those events were used as a very good excuse to try to assimilate all the french people of Canada in 1840. French canadian were called an "inferior race" in official government report and was said to have no culture, so we should disapear by assimilation. In many ways, the domination of the British rules over the citizen of Quebec created the independance movement and still explains it's existence today since this domination is not over (destruction of Quebec's law by the Canadian constitution not signed by Quebec, no control on immigration, big lack of french education funding all over Canada, and the list is still long).
Great video. But two jarring miss, Quebec never signed the Canadian constitution. The Labrador gift to Newfoundland was made against Quebec's will and is still not recognized.
Happy you made this video as I've been looking for a more modern discussion about Quebecois independence ever since accidentally biking past the Quebec building in central London. It blew my mind that they had a embassy-like office (so did Northern Cyprus'). Would love to see an explanation of Newfoundland's 1930's financial crisis and temporary return to British rule, though I know you tend to focus more on modern international relations.
Thanks so much Jack. Yes, it’s interesting how regions are increasingly establishing their own representative offices (embassies in waiting) abroad. Flanders also does this. And it’s funny you should mention Newfoundland. I’ve actually started working on a script for it. (Not sure when I’ll make it though. I try to keep ‘evergreen’ scripts in reserve for when I hit busy work periods.) I’ve long been fascinated in the idea that it could’ve been the fourth independent North American country. I do tend to focus on current situations, but it’s great to throw in historical cases from time-to-time!
And it makes sense when you think about it. As the population within a representative democracy grows, that democracy becomes less and less representative. More representatives can be elected to make up for the population growth, but there is a limit to how many representatives a political system can have until it becomes too unwieldy. Secession is a way to decentralize the power and bring power back to the people.
@@jayrogers8255 it would be francophone 100%, in high school, most history teachers are separatists and they present the english language and the English people has the devil lol.
@@minimumlikelihood6552 No I don't have to copy anyone, but if some country want to break my country then I wish the same for that specific country tit for tat simple!
Hi! I’m a student from Ontario currently learning about Quebec nationalism. I’ve done some research about the topic, but I’d be interested to know… why are you personally for separation? Is it because of history and/or because you think Quebec would be better off alone?
I'm a quebecor and im for the independance too:we are for because of the two reasons you have say, mainly to maintain our language who is unique and it will be easier to develop our territory and exploit our ressources
I’ll be 68 in 2 months. I’m for independence of Quebec all my life. I hope it comes before I die. I’ve not seen the Rockies, but I went in the Alps, Pyrénées, Himalayas (Everest and Annapurna range) and the Andes where i felt welcomed everywhere. Going to Alberta or B.C., not much interested of having my trailer vandalized or myself been bashed. VLQL.
Quebec being a homeland of French speaking persons should be an Independent country. I support the freedom of Quebec. Voting should be conducted and results should be submitted to UN. We, Indians also fully support its freedom and creation as a separate Republic.
As a Québécois, I find that we don't often get a fair treatment from anglo commenters when it comes to explaining these issues. This video is a shining exception. It's a bit brief and it skips over a few interesting points, but the big picture is accurate. I was worried when I saw the title, but what a relief it was to listen to the whole thing,
"As a Québécois, I find that we don't often get a fair treatment from anglo commenters when it comes to explaining these issues. " Maybe if the Quebec government didn't keep passing laws designed to eliminate English from the province the rest of the country wouldn't view Quebec as the spoiled brat of the country.
As a Quebecer, I feel way more Canadian than Quebecer. Yes french is my first language, but its also an official Canadian language. I am bilangual, but i never and will never lose my french or stop speaking it because I consume nore english. I would vote no everyday of the week, it makes no sense economicaly and socialy. Other Canadian love us now and we love them also. We are way stronger and better off economicaly as a province and we can still keep our Quebecer nationality and culture that is indeed, different from the rest of canada, even tho personally I really dont vibe with our culture lol.
Tout ce que tu dit n’es que de l’endoctrinement fédéraliste. Non, la culture Québécoise, le français, la protection et nos institutions et de nos décisions n’ont aucune avenir dans le Canada. Les belles pensés que tu dit comme quoi les canadiens nous aiment et que nous les aimions en retour est (en plus d’être peu pertinent) un mensonge. Il suffit de regarder les nouvelles politiques quotidiennes pour y voir le Canada systématiquement se foutre du Québec. Le Canada ne respecte pas les décisions du Québec et se permet de faire du Québec bashing vu comment le Québec est de moins en moins important d’un point de vue nombres de siège à l’assemblée fédérale. Deuxième point, tu dit que les finances d’un Québec souverain serait absurde. Je suis d’accord avec toi que si nous voulons le Québec étant membre dans un État le plus puissant possible et bien restons dans le Canada. Puis formons un seul pays avec les États-Unis. Puis un autre énorme pays avec la Chine, l’Allemagne puis aussi la Russie…À ce moment nous serons dans la plus grande puissance économique. Cependant est-ce que nos volontés seront bien respectées. Là est tout le problème. Un Québec souverain pourra garder les 60 quelques milliards de dollars qu’il envoie à Ottawa puis les investir dans nos projets, nos problèmes et nos réalités qui sont biens différentes de ceux du reste du Canada. Dire que le Québec dans le Canada est plus prospère est un calcule non fondé qui relève de l’endoctrinement politique. Plusieurs étude prouve qu’un Québec souverain aurait largement les moyens d’être un pays et en plus prospère. Le jour 1 où nous serons indépendant, le Québec sera 21e selon le PIB par habitant nous hissant devant des pays que nul remettrais la légitimité de leur indépendance tel que l’Italie, le Japon, l’Espagne, le Portugal et bien d’autre. Je finirai ce message en citant Pierre Falardeau: «Moi je n’abandonnerai jamais. [...] Si on choisit collectivement d’abandonner, y’a un prix à payer pour ça. Si on choisit de s’écraser, si on choisit de s’allonger, le monde y vont s’essuyer les pieds sur nous autres. Pis les peuples qui meurent, ça meurt longtemps. Pis c’est douloureux, pis ça fait mal. Faque, si vous décidez d’abandonner ça va être bin long, pis ça va être tough. Vous avez besoin d’être tough.» De ce constat une seule décision nous reste, s’affranchir de tous nos pouvoirs en se battant pour l’indépendance du Québec.
Bilingualism leads to anglicization. Quebec-bashing in the ROC is considered acceptable. You have the right to you opinion, but it is, ultimately, wrong.
They love you less than you think. Take away the language laws and French would become a minority language in less than 100 years. Probably less than 50.
1995 question “ Do you agree that Quebec should become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Quebec and of the agreement signed on June 12, 1995?” If the question was not so convoluted it would not have been that close.
on the topic of canada, i've seen posts on the internet about a potential alberta/western canada independence movement, which claims that the ontario-based government are now paying too much attention to quebec and subsequently less to the western parts of canada. what do you guys think of this?
It's more centered around Alberta the anywhere else in Western Canada. There is a possibility of the Alberta independence movement growing to match Quebec's, but it'll take a lot more that anything that's happened yet for it to expand much past that particular province.
@@Mangocharlie Nope, Saskatchewan is even more conservative. Libtards dominate Ontario and Eastern Canada but are marginal in BC and Manitoba too. It's a matter of time before Western Canada cannot take Trudeau-style idiocy any more. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Canadian_federal_election#/media/File:Canada_2019_Federal_Election.svg
One of my colleagues at work in Toronto, about 30 years ago, turned out to be a francophone from Quebec City, the provincial capital of Quebec. I remember something she said once, to the effect that her perception of the rest of Canada changed completely once she lived outside Quebec and saw how very different ordinary Canadians were from the perceptions Quebeckers got from their government and media. I expect the same would be said by most non-Quebeckers that spent more than a few days in Quebec. It made me think that every Canadian high school student would benefit from spending a year living outside of their home province in some kind of exchange program.
Canadians definitely need to see more of their country. There are people that basically just know Toronto or Vancouver or wherever. They just know their one area, and know nothing about the rest of the country.
Sorry to burst your bubble, I lived 5 years in Alberta and I often witnessed the discrimination faced by French-speaking communities,,,, And when I returned to Quebec I became a separatist. Canadian Multiculturalism is just a shitty facade
@@linefrenette9116 Et moi j'ai travaillé deux ans en Alberta et j'ai eu de très belle rencontre. De plus, j'ai des amis anglophones qui viennent ici au Québec et ils se font répondre "ici c'est en français ostie". Par sur que cela soit plus accueillant. Ils doivent surement agir comme vous quand ils rentrent dans leur province et se disent "let them go away" . Malheureusement, la stupidité n'est pas une caractéristique d'un seul peuple mais elle est universelle. On doit juste s'efforcer de ne pas en faire partie.
@@ericcothenet9709 L'expérience peut être différente d'une personne à l'autre et moi aussi j'y ai eue des amis des deux langues qui ont eu de très bonnes expériences au Québec mes amis ne sont pas hautain comme plusieurs le sont. Peut être que tes amis le sont. En passant mon beau-père est Britannique et il ne s'est jamais fait dire "ici au Québec ont est français ostie"et pourtant ça fait 49 ans qu'il vit à Québec.
As someone from the younger generation in Quebec, I think that a reason for the decline in wanting independence is that we think we don't have our shit together. I would be on the fence if another referendum came around tomorrow. I would love to see us independent, but we struggle in many aspects. Our hospitals are overcrowded, our infrastructure (for example; roads) is old and dilapidated, etc. I would be a lot more willing to have independence if we were able to get our house in order first.
Thanks, Nicholas. That’s really interesting to hear. I often get the sense that similar sentiments exist in Scotland. Many just feel that it wouldn’t be particularly well run if it became independent.
@@JamesKerLindsay However, what a lot of people fail to notice is that a lot of this "mismanagement" originates with people and parties that are overtly federalist. For instance, the many scandals we had in respect to the construction industry, which largely explain our crumbling infrastructure, were directly caused by our provincial Liberal party (under Premier Jean Charest). Many people feel like this was orchestrated at least in part to make our provincial government (i.e. national government in waiting) seem inept.
@@louisd.8928 Good point but still, too many civil workers over here who don't give a damn. Those civil workers are mainly Québécois. Them and their union demands killed us.
Honnêtement en tant qu'immigrant, si l'indépendance passe le Canada va probablement se démembrer et intégrer les US. Si cela arrive, je rentrerai dans mon pays, car crise économique, financière, fiscale, infrastructurelle, garantie. J'ai choisi de rejoindre le Québec ET le Canada, en bon français ce serait un "dealbreaker". Mais vous inquiétez pas, si un autre référendum arrive, je voterai pas même si j'en aurais l'opportunité, c'est à vous vrais québécois et canadiens de choisir.
Fix? at 4:29 : The reason of these rebellions wasn't really because of the language difference, but it was more a fight between French Canadians and the British people. (It was a fight for culture and power, not just language)
I lived in Canada 14 years. 10 in Montreal & 4 in Ontario. They are like different countries. Language and culture feel completely different. I think the reason the independent movement died down is because Quebec is satisfied they maintained their francophone identity & culture without independence.
I guess you can say it has been maintained but with Quebec being a part of Canada it's going to be the death of Quebec, it already is. Quebecois want to protect their identity and culture while the Canadian values are Diversity, inclusivity, and multiculturalism. I think if Quebec doesn't secede it will be the death of Quebec, especially with more and more other cultures moving in
Francophone strategy worked. All they had to do was whine about something or other, and with media support Ottawa coughed, whine again and Ottawa coughed, whine some more and Ottawa coughed. Two failed independence Referendum's and still Ottawa coughed. Today Quebec independence is yesterdays news and of little interest to new generations of educated Quebecers. They have taken over from backwoodsmen from back in days of yore and recognize Canadian citizenship is among the most prized and contains a whole host of goodies. Does it get any better?
One key point: it was revealed that federal funds were used to campaign against independence in 1995. Additionally, citizenship decisions were expedited to entice immigrants to vote against independence. Once these 2 facts were exposed, the former leading to a public inquiry, many people felt that any future attempt would suffer the same fate and thus gave up on ever revisiting the issue.
@@junefranklin458 If your democratic rights would be violated fraudulently by the government in the name of security, you'd have a different opinion on the matter.
I lived in Montreal during the 1980 Referendum. It was really inspiring. One of my separatist friends Michel said, 'Yes, he thought an independent Quebec would suffer economically, but it was so important an issue he was willing to accept this." I wish my fellow Americans (US) were as reasonable about their passions. (Since then I think several paths to economic success have become clear.) And on election day everybody left Vieux Montreal - where I lived and worked - to go home and vote. I've never seen an election in the States where everybody votes. What happened is the polls were neck and neck with René Levesque's Parti Quebecois doing quite well. Then a week or two before the vote, Premier Pierre Trudeau came to Quebec and started to campaign against sovereignty association. The only thing bigger in Quebec than Trudeau, was maple syrup and Elvis. He seemed irresistible. Also one of the female leaders of the Sovereignty campaign made a wisecrack that any woman who voted against separation was just a little Yvette (some old school submissive wife in kid's books or something.) The backlash was immediate and significant. The anti-separatist women organized the Yvette Movement linking feminism, equality with anti-separatism. The old/young gap you discuss also makes a lot of sense to me. I knew a lot of French Canadian women and they seemed to almost run everything, they'd run Canada, or the world, if the chance arose. They were almost all fully bilingual. Though it was their grandmothers who were the backbone of the Quiet Revolution, I've never met a population of women who insisted on complete equality in every facet of life and work. The working class men on the other hand, many of them the husbands of these women, often had weak English skills, lower education levels. often seemed frustrated and angry. I didn't see this in the Quebec youth of 1980 - 42 years ago. To me an outsider it often seemed that those French Canadian men were just angry for no reason, then I met a some old, wealthy, English Canadians who were incredibly bigoted. It was like the old racist American South. I can see where anyone being subjected to them would want to be as separated as possible. The younger people? Bilingualism seemed the mark of being urbane, cool, intelligent with lots of opportunities. I just met a Quebecoise in the Pittsburgh airport, we gave her a ride into town. She was there to do post doctorate medical research. Her English skills were good, but she struggled a bit. So clearly she had had an incredible medical or biology education, earned a PhD - almost entirely in French (as would be the case in France), and was at a level that a major research facility recruited her. That's the Quebec I saw well under way in 1980.
At the time during the year 1980 many tradesmen were continuing to adjust at work to the change in Canadian business law on April 1, 1975 which required the Metric System to be used always in any engineering firm office or on any construction site. Not all Canadian Francophones were living in Quebec at the time. Like my father here in Alberta. Towns like Beaumont, Alberta and Saint Paul, Alberta had a lot of Francophone Canadians back then and those western towns continue to have a lot of living Francophone Canadians today.
@@oleksii000 who started it. sikh dont want their own country. a very minute amount of khalistani. and one more thing if they want their own country it doesn't mean they want it from India they can have it from Canada as well. By the way shall i send a raw agent to deal with you as well .
Love alone wont do it, after over 160 years of trying to have Quebec recognized as a nation within Canada in the core of the constitution, independence remains our only way to continue being Québécois.
Bonjour from the United States! I’m watching this because I like your country and I’m also interested in politics, not just in my country, but also in others 🇺🇸🇨🇦❤️
Very interesting, I'm a French speaker from Belgium. Leaving into the Flemish part of the country. The will for an independent Flanders is decreasing but on the same time, political parties calling for this are more powerful then ever due to the fact that people choose those parties for several other reasons.
@@JamesKerLindsay Great video! I'll do my best to give you an intelligent response. As of 2021, the independence movement has roughly 30% support in the population. It's a fact that the two referendum defeats in 15 years have chilled our ardor. I don't mean to give an history class in this comment. It would be too long and the subject is easily accessable for anyone who cares to read it. I'll just say that the history of francos and anglos has been marked by tremendous cooperation, making Canada one of the wealthiest and enjoyable place to live on this planet. It has also been marked by a lot of political, economical, religous, cultural and race conflicts. Whenever those conflicts arise, the anglos use the judiciary, military and police powers to exert domination and assimilation on the francos. This has to stop. As to what I think the independence movement (and the Québécois people in general) should be focusing on : just keep getting richer and developping the land. As to political action, I like that you pointed out current Prime Minister Francois Legault's strong stance on nationalism through regional autonomy, even though he now says he's not for independence anymore. Legault is perpetuating a trend by the provincial government of Québec to expand it's boundaries and its autonomy. Let's quickly mention Maurice Duplessis in 1954 implementing provincial income taxes. Québec is still today the only province in Canada raising it's own income taxes (raising about 65-70 billion dollars per year while still sending 50 billion dollars per year to the federal government. Also a mention for René Lévesque and the much talked-about language laws in 1977. Legault is pushing that trend these days with his very much hated (in multicultural elite circles) Law 21. It has now reached the supreme court of Canada. The thing is Legault is using the derogatory clause for this law. This clause was part of of the 1982 constitution, which enables provinces to substract a law to federal courts. If the Supreme Court judges overrule the derogatory clause, there's a very highly chance it will cause massive poltical backlash in Québec, probably leading to the resurgence of the independence movement. Either that or the judges approve Law 21, therefore giving defacto more autonomy to the government of Québec. This Suprement Court ruling will probably have lasting consequences in canadian politics for years to come. Final words, let us stay strong and keep getting richer. Let us work towards expanding our political influence and power. The rest will come in due time.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate the incredibly helpful and detailed reply. That is really interesting to hear. I have found it such an interesting case. I well remember the 1995 referendum. I was at university at the time and it really was the main independence movement of the day. I just find it fascinating that it isn’t discussed in the way that it once was. Although clearly there is still a sizeable independence movement. It will be really interesting to see how it evolves. In the meantime, thanks so much once again for the really helpful insights!
@@JamesKerLindsay Politics, like war and sports, are often about momentum! I will also add on a personal note that I felt enthused when the Scottish referendum happened. Even though they lost by a small margin like Québec did, it showed me that countries can die and be reborn again. National pride doesn't die suddenly. The Scots have been invaded and subject to english domination way before the french canadians ever did. That referendum taught me that the Scots, despite only 10% of the population speaking gaelic, still feel different than England, even though they speak the same language! I'm optimistic for the future.
Quebec should be it's own country it's the best part of Canada the people in America think everyone in Canada speaks French and Quebec has the best national anthem ever 🤔♥️🇲🇫
Let me tell you something, Quebec can NOT survive on it's own, Quebecer would cry in thier beds if they left because they wouldn't be able to bum off the rest of Canada anymore. I have a better solution just leave this continent, NOW.
Hi mister Ker-Lindsay. Thanks for this video. I’m Quebecois (who also lived elsewhere in Canada), and I tell you that I rarely see unbiased report like yours, congratulations. For those who wonder why the independence movement got so lame, I may offer you my reeding of the situation. The Quebec’s population is divided into three groups (not two). There is a minority who wants the independence; in a referendum they would vote Yes. There is another minority who feels Canadian first; they would vote No. And then, there is the people we never talk about, those who make the difference, those who are the majority; those who just wants the status quo. "Status quo" was not a choice on the 1995’s ballot. It was just Yes or No. Most of them picked the closest choice; No. This majority of people in favour of status quo, what do they want? They just wants to feel at home, even if they know they are not entirely. They want the Quebec to be autonomous, in Canada (somewhere apart in a corner). Many politicians in both Quebec and Canada are happy buying the peace with this, and win their election, but this inconsistency maintain mutual obstructions and tensions. In Quebec, the people’s psyche is still in denial with the shame and pain of the 1995’s defeat. In doing so, the new generation has grown up with the independence as a taboo. Plus, they don’t care much about politic, and care more about global than local issues. If there was a referendum today, for the aforementioned reasons, it would lose again. But, what if people had to choose between one of those two choices: - Make the independence, by founding the Republique du Quebec (francophone), and give away everything canadian Or - Sign the canadian constitution, give away everything typically quebecois, and adopt the canadian way for everything we do (like other provinces). The result would be very different. Expect something to evolve in the next 10 years. Quebecois just got themselves out of a 50 years pattern (stock between Liberals and Pequiste). A new party, the CAQ, was elected. It got elected with an autonomous approach. But somehow, and paradoxically, nationalism was relived. Stay tuned, it will be interesting.
Thank you so much for the kind comments and fascinating insights. The strong autonomists can be a powerful force in these situations. I think the same has traditionally been the case in Scotland. But there too things seem to have been moving, albeit for rather different reasons.
No matter what it takes, French must be given a place of priority in Quebec. Every newcomer, and that includes the full gang at Ubisoft, must learn and use this language. If you want to see what will happen if French is not protected, book a trip to New Orleans, where this once majority language has been reduced to little more than folklore.
One should always learn the language of were he wants to live. I believe it respectful. If immigrants wants to only speak English, I understand. But just for convenience alone, there's many more provinces to chose from.
At the Federal level bureaucracy, if you're supposed to be a bilingual country, everybody has to be able to speak both languages. If only the French speakers speak English but not the other way around, that's not two official languages. That's just Francophones speaking English. From federal institutions in all provinces and also, on some local neighborhood were French is a thing, people should be able to have services in French. That's what's we're asking. If you live in Quebec, it has one official language. French. I expect to speak in French in public spaces and if you're not a tourist, I'mma let you know we're speaking in French. The same way I don't expect to speak in French in British Columbia or in Toronto because these provinces only have English as an official language. Right now, there's the double standard like could you imagine the PM if Canada not being able to speak English? Right now the PM of New Brunswick can't speak French and the GG can't speak French three years after her nomination as GG. It's just the double standard of having to accept something you know the other way around would never happened. And I wish First Nations languages to take a have a better place in Canada but I don't want that to be at the expense of French. I think we can find a way to make happy but talking about French in Canada is like talking to a wall in the ROC, at least that's how I feel.
Thanks for this historic education. This was educational and thought provoking. Keep up the thorough treatments of sometimes unknown and unpopular subjects (to some).
Could you do a video about Singapore's independence and separation from Malaysia ? The event was unique because Singapore didn't want independence and was forced out from the Federation of Malaysia.
Thank so much. Great suggestion. In fact, I have a script for Singapore all ready. (I keep a few historical ones in reserve just in case I have a particularly busy week.) As you rightly point out, it is a fascinating case. The only example of a state that essentially came into existence by being expelled from another one. Most states do anything to hold on to their territory! Unfortunately, I’m not sure when I will make it. But I promise it is a topic I’m keen to cover!
@@JamesKerLindsay I will love to watch and learn the Singaporean way out. Please Sir, sacrifice for us! Bring it on. The world will love to know, especially since Singapore got very robust economy than Malaysia in terms!s of global GDP, if am correct! People will love to know how it all happened!
Quebec politicians are engineering a death by a thousand cuts approach. Canada cedes a bit more power every year, and eventually Quebec does not need a referendum, it is it's own country. Quebec already has representatives in the Canadian delegation at the UN and most other international bodies. Quebec is already referred to as a nation. Quebecers already call the Premier of Quebec the Prime Minister of Quebec. Quebec controls it's own immigration and pulls only from french speaking countries. Anyone who wanders into Quebec and does not speak French is given 6 months to learn French or experience language isolation. Quebec is practically independent already. When they do gain independence, it will merely be a formality. Hopefully the breakup is amicable. Though, I also hope some sense prevails and they chose to remain a province of Canada.
The Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837-38 wasn't entirely, or I believe even mostly, about tensions between the English and French speaking communities. Rather, it was about the lack of representative government in Lower Canada. Many of the patriotes were English-speaking, such as the Nelson brothers. It was mirrored by a rebellion in Upper Canada.
Quebecois here. Mom's family is federalist, Dad's is separatist. So I come at this with an understanding of both factions. From my perspective, it is unlikely that the separatist movement will make much inroads short term. Canada is not perfect, and we Quebecois have many things to rightfully complain about (as do all other Canadian national minorities, first and foremost Aboriginal peoples, but also Acadians, Franco-Ontarians/Albertans etc.), but none are sufficient to challenge the current constitutional status quo. As René Lévesque once said: ''We're paralyzed, but comfortably so''. This being said, we have our red lines, and if they were to be crossed by other provinces or the federal government, you could see a spike in separatist sentiments. Among things that could be enough: 1)Trying to make the French language not official anymore at the federal level 2) Political shenanigans to reduce the proprotion of seats we have in the House of Commons 3) Forcing a pipeline through our territory, especially if it crosses the St-Lawrence river, our main source of fresh water 4) Anything that reeks of right-wing, US Republican-style culture wars. For example, if the federal government wanted to limit access to abortion, make guns easier to obtain, uneccessary "terrorism related" wars, pro-Christian and anti-women/LGBTQ+ policies in general (e.g. the gay wedding cake situation) 5) Conscription
@@randybell5461 How? Quebec IS Canada, thats where it started, hard to be more Canadian then someone from Quebec. Without Quebec, the rest of Canada is exactly like the United States.
As an Albertan I wish Quebec independence would have a long time ago. Quebec is the number one receiver of transfer payment from the federal government. The number one giver of transfer payment is Alberta. Why would Quebecers favour independence if the federal government continuously pumps money in the province? Would Air Canada's headquarters be in Montreal if the federal government wouldn't force them to be there? Makes no economic sense since Toronto's Pearson airport handles more than double of Montreal's airport.
I shall remain Quebecois not American , there is so much more to know about Quebec and french people . Moi je le sais je vien du Quebec... Vivre le Quebec !
4:24 : these rebellions weren’t led by tensions between communities, but by the desire to obtain a real democracy, more specifically, to obtain an accountable government
I am a Québécoise too, and I was 5 years old at the time. My dad was very passionately in the “No” camp. I studied in political science, and I remember very well being annoyed for a very long time by both federalist and sovereignist political parties… like if independence was the single issue that was most discussed. For older people who lived through 2 referenda, it was still an issue (and politicians are always old people). It left a big red scar (anger, fear, resentment) in our politics and sense of hope for the future. The fear (especially from anglo-Quebecois who have an electoral advantage by being concentrated in an area) helped maintain the “liberal party” of Quebec almost monopolistic position in power by agitating the spectre of referendum every election. They made bad policies that hurt our people. I’ve always been against secession from Canada (I see all French Canadians as my community, and half my family are Franco-ontarian), but I was disgusted to see it agitated all the time like a strawman by federalist parties. People don’t want another referendum because it was painful, and because there is no support for that at the moment (around 25% only… as you said mostly in people over 55 +). At the same time, Parti Quebecois never got over indépendance and did not really modernize their approach to it. So most people my age only saw the “bad” effect, while at the same time we were concerned by the fight against poverty, climate change, diversity and equality, etc. I was left feeling I had no party representing me, since neither of those party prioritized those issues. The politics is bitter, since anytime we want to protect French language is “racism” or want to have a more secular society (a big value rift with Canadians) we hear about racism too. Now the new party in power is still a Conservative Party, but half nationalist and half conservative. I support the idea behind some policies like secularism, (another over-debated issue here for like 20 years). But I feel the actual party are not the good people to do that, because they mix conservative mindset with secularism and it sucks. They constantly make dumb mistakes like refusing to remove the crucifix from Assemblée nationale and insist on receiving less immigrants. Their not credible secularists, in my opinion. Damn I ’m tired of Quebec politics and it’s old bickering XD Finally, one thing about the Patriote uprising that we often forget… is that it was not in essence against a English as a language or ethnicity, they were asking for “responsible government” and more autonomy for the colony; they demanded representation. And lots of anglophone participated in the uprising. It was reinterpreted a bit in Quebecois historiography as an Quebecois secession movement, but it was more Canadian at the time and the Patriot cemetery has a lot of English names too
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. It’s never easy tackling issues from a distance. But I hope I hit the main points through. And your situation is very familiar. This is the case in many similar cases. Many pro-independence supporters in Scotland are opposed to the SNP.
Ya pas juste le parti québécois qui est souverainiste.... QS l'est aussi ... La CAQ peut être un jour... Il faut arrêter de seulement associer l'independance a ce parti qui n'est pas resté fidèle au rêve qui l'a enfanté (qui a mal vieilli)
@@sludgydude8187 Je vote QS, mais il ne faut pas se leurrer, ce parti n'a pas de chance dans un avenir proche d'être même près d'obtenir l'opposition officielle.
@@felixgagne5996 c'est pour ça qu'il faudrait unir les forces indépendantistes... Mais avec les boomers du PQ, je comprends que les membres de QS ne veulent pas fusionner avec eux
Anything goes around comes around one day! the difference is that, the present Quebec government is passing all kind of laws that's in favor of french language. They are going to independence with no referendum.
Why? I am curious to know what’s the problem there, Canada seems too peaceful for there to be a secessionist movement, I mean you guys have pretty great healthcare and a nice social safety net. I would like to know more if you’ve got time
@@nineten9011 I'll spare you an essay by giving you a simple analogy. Québec is as linguistically and culturally distinct from Canada as France is from the United Kingdom and therefore requires it's independence to insure the protection of it's identify and the integration of immigrants within It's French Canadian culture. To elaborate further would take too much time but let's simply say that Canada's multiculturalist vision of the country makes its difficult for our government to put forward politics that facilitate the integration of immigrants and the protection of our language. Every attempted constitutional reform to fix this problem has unfortunately failed. The 1995 referendum saw 60% of native Québécois (french Canadians of Québec) voting for a split but since 99% of English and 95% of allophones (neither french Canadians nor English) voted to stay we lost our independence by 1% and never have gotten over it. Anyways I've talked too much but it's not just a matter of living peacefully. It's a matter of protecting our language and culture as well as integrating immigrants well and not having a government which appears foreign to us (Canada's government) having powers over us which should be in our hands.
@@nineten9011 Why wouldn't we want to make our own decisions and control our destiny? It should be very obvious why anyone wants to be independant...to be free god dammit!!!!
@@michaelbourdages4777 sorry it took a while for me to reply thanks for the run down and it’s understandable the decline of a culture is pretty sad, I think those problems would go away if immigration was reformed but that’s just my two cents in it really.
I was in high school when Bill 101 was passed, then in CEGEP for the first referendum, and in Ontario in 1995. Intense moments in Canadian history. Je me souviens.
missconceptions about equalization in canada : Alberta often argues that it is paying for equalization, but that’s not quite right. No provincial government pays. Equalization is a federal program, funded by federal income taxes and other revenue. And Albertans are subject to exactly the same federal tax rates as other Canadians. The reason the province is a net payee into the federal treasury and equalization, rather than a net recipient, is because Albertans, on average, have higher incomes than other Canadians. It’s similar to someone making $100,000 a year and wondering why she paid more in taxes than her neighbour who earned $20,000 less. Quebec is usually a target of Mr. Kenney’s ire, but on a per-capita basis the top beneficiaries of equalization are actually New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Thats not taking into consideration the billions in tax credit that the oil industry gets As for language, i keep reading that ''quebeckers hate speaking english''. What BS. Most of us are bilingual. If more english canadians spoke french that would be a bridge to help canadian unity. Most english canadians ive met knew NOTHING about french canadian culture (because french canada is not limited to Quebec. )
Sorry but the CAQ is not opposed to our independence, they just don't want to talk about it. Be careful of another ''Révolution tranquille'', this is the way we like to play the game!!!
Canada, more specifically Quebec, is the homeland of my grandparents. It is truly a great country and I see it as a better mix of immigrants living together for the common good than the in USA. I currently live in the state of New Hampshire, USA, just to the south of where my ancestors came from in Quebec. The people here in NH, though with Canadian French origins and language, have become "Americanized" and merged into the general population just in my lifetime. Even the French Canadian language is dying out. It is like the Cajuns from Nova Scotia who were banished to Louisiana. In Louisiana they still have some of their original culture such as Parishes instead of counties, Napoleonic law code, and the French Cajun language. It is the same as here. I believe Canada will develop using some of each culture and language, giving us the best of both worlds. I am proud to be a Canadian descendant. I do not think Canada will ever separate. Canada is my safety go-to when things here in the USA becomes anarchic which seems to be quickly happening these days. "Merci" (thank you) for this synopsis of the Quebecois situation. Mai Ouis!
Uh you do know that your grandparents experienced a lot of discrimination if they were French Canadian growing up? Their generation would have been told to "speak white" and would be the lowest paid ethnic group on average in Québec of all places.
The only reason you have a country is because of the United States citizens. The only reason you have anything is because you have been bumming off of and protected by the United States since WWII. As for Quebec citizens way back, most of them were cowards, too afraid to go fight for thier countries in the wars so they ran to quebec calling Quebec a separate country when it was not just to avoid going to war, and now they act like they have earned that land and that thier better then everyone else. Do the US and Canada a favor and leave this continent. Sincerly from Ottawa and New York
@@NationalismDjazair Speak for you, I have American friends who know very well what Quebec is and where it is located,,,, and it is true that many Americans are of Quebecers descent
Thanks so much. I do indeed. Here is an old video on why it couldn’t be independent and had to be handed back to China: ruclips.net/video/YBkZwBKBokY/видео.htmlsi=APpZ66Yh6aFCbypv I also did another more recent one of how China has reneged on its promise to preserve democracy: ruclips.net/video/0zH2nOQEVDY/видео.htmlsi=52Ov43nikrJQfbaV
@@hugostiglitz2388 I know that. The canadian boat is sinking toward the bottom of the ocean. Newfoundland is technically bankrupt beause of the Muskrat Falls fiasco. They are serious rumors Hydro-Québec buys Hydro-Newfie to prevent a near doubling of electricity rates in NFLD . The next one. Their situation will get worse after 2025: Net Debt per Capita , in dollar $ Year *Alberta* 2016-17 2 121 2017-18 4 561 2018-19 6 393 2019-20 9 204 2020-21 Projection 14 134 2021-22 Projection 18 479 2022-23 Projection 20 922 2023-24 Projection 22 411
Source: Fiscal reference tables (Department of Finance Canada).
The only result is on a double bureaucracy that is too expensive to maintain, save on that bureaucracy to have better education, healthcare, roads, etc.!
Support for Quebec independence is cyclical, it has been going up and down for the last 50 years. Now we're at a low ebb, but don't hold your breath, it can come back with force depending on the context... Quebec public opinion is notoriously volatile, support for the issue can climb to over 50% in a matter of months (remember the "sponsorship scandal" in 2005-6?). So yes, the independence movement is very much alive and Quebec will probably become a sovereign country in the next 20 years.
But, the federal government did improve itself over the years to better include and represent French speakers. Fecque ... Beaucoup d'immigrants parlent français
@@sammexp va voir les statistiques, tu vas écrire moins de mensonges d’ignorants incultes…voir commission sur les langues officielles du Canada pour les petits colonisés de services aveuglement fédérastes.😁😘
@@robin-bq1lz si ce n'était pas vrai les gens seraient majoritairement indépendantistes ... C'est juste réaliste. T'es juste trop aveuglé par l'idéalogie pour t'en rendre compte
@@sammexp est-ce que tu sais la différence entre la théorie et la pratique?!, si tu le savais, ont auraient certainement pas cette conversation. C’est un peu comme les résultats environnementaux depuis le protocole de Kyoto malgré toutes les promesses fédérales, le Canada est parmi les pires pollueurs par habitant malgré les beaux discours….tout comme le niveau de bilinguisme des anglophones du Canada, un des plus bas au monde. Arrête de te fier à tes impressions et va lire les très nombreux rapports officiels par les Commissaires sur le sujet ou encore le comité permanent du sénat canadien sur les langues officielles…où simplement statistiques Canada, bonne éducation.😘
In May of 2022, a study spanning Québec evaluates support for Sovereignty-Association to roughly 53% and outright independence to 40.5%. Both questions were asked respectively, so this does not equate to 93.5% of the population.
Sorry but have to correct you on one point. Quebec and Ukraine are not comparable in land area size. Quebec is much larger. Quebec in square miles is 644,000. Ukraine is:233,000 sq.miles Quebec is more comparable to the state of Alaska and is even then still larger.
At one point Quebec was considered to be one of the most significant independence movement in the world. And yet we hear little about it today. So, can we still expect to see an independent Quebec?
Yes, might be because the Canadian government is doing well, what push people to call for their statehood mostly rested on bad government.
This is something I have always wondered, thank you for this video!
Yes. I honestly don't know about the viability of Canada over the next century. Widely disparate regions with the bulk of our population living near the American border. Living on the prairies I think I have far more in common with someone in North Dakota or Kansas than I do with someone in Vancouver or Montreal. I'm going to get some hate for this but it's something I think about quite a bit. Quebec is an independent nation already but why leave when you can be over represented in Parliament and get billions in equalization payments. I just don't think this can last.
@@chewyduck1355 yes - and now that the shoe is going to other foot I wonder if a now rich Quebec will give billions to Alberta..
A good article remembering Quebec license plates state the poem "je me souviens" reminding the Quebecois of the French roots (as apart from English rule)
I'm a Quebecers and I've been following you for a couple months now. Love your videos. But when I saw this video in my RUclips suggestions, I told myself "no way he talked about us, this is an opportunity for me to see just how accurate and researched this guy is".
Listen, I'm a super politicized citizen of Québec and buddy, you nailed it. This video is super accurate from start to finish. You used points, arguments and data that are quite niche and that even most Anglo-Canadians aren't familiar with.
You're the real deal. I absolutely trust you now. Not that I didn't, but this video was like a test of your quality to me. You did not disappoint. Bravo
Thank you so much! That’s incredibly kind of you to say. I’ve actually been really surprised and pleased by the reaction to this video. It is such an amazingly interesting subject. It really did shape my interest in International Relations. I was keen to get a sense of how the debate has evolved since the 1990s. But I know how difficult it can be to cover, especially as an Anglophone Brit! I am just glad you felt I did the subject justice. Thank you so much once again.
@@JamesKerLindsay I was actually an elected member of the highest committee of the Parti Québécois (the "Conseil National"), so yeah take it from me, quality work right here. Probably the RUclipsr I trust the most now.
Please continue, cheers mate!
I agree, Yan. His being so fair and accurate about what I do know makes me trust him all the more on topics I don't know.
How does Qiuebec handle immigration? As a tourist, I loved the unique culture in Quebec. An equisite mixture of Americs and Europe.. In Ontario, Toronto I wasnt sute if I was not in the USA.
@@salzach353thomas8We can't handle it ...le chemin Roxanne est grand ouvert
Most accurate and professional video on Quebec independence that I've seen on english youtube.
Note: While independence is a contentious topic, quite a lot of federalists have no great attachment towards Canada, and will flip sides rather easily. In (I think) 2006, independance polled at 60% following the scandale des commandites, wherein it was revealed that the No camp had made many illegal spendings, and had employed otherwise shady tactics.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I try to be as balanced as I can, but it is always really great to hear from those close to the situations that I cover. And really interesting point about the federalists.
@@JamesKerLindsay Yes you do good work!
C'est vrai qu'il est bon !
Je suis d’accord. Il est nuancé et assez impartial je trouve. Et je suis moi même indépendantiste.
As a francophone (if thoroughly bilingual) Canadian born and raised in Ontario, having lived in Quebec many years, and as a passionate student of history and especially Canadian history for the entire 50-odd years of my adult life, I can only testify along with many others here that you really, really, did your homework and you have grasped the situation, past and present, as well or better than . . . well, than many of my own compatriots of both languages. This is only the third of your videos I have watched (I'm now catching up on your production) and will be following you closely. Kudos!
I find americans know very little of hteir actual history, and canadians know even less. Maybe it just wasn't violent enough for them I don't know, but REGIONAL history is virtualy never brought up.
English speaking Canadian RUclipsrs like J.J. McCullough give an impression that they prefer Quebec leaving Canada.
Thanks. Interesting. Yes, this has done parallels with Scotland and the U.K. Many English take the view that if they don’t like it they should leave, and get on with it. It’s sort of positive and negative. Positive that they respect the rights of Scots to go their own way, but negative as it shows that separatist nationalism can often have a deeper effect than people realise. You might get to a situation where you don’t want independence any longer, but in getting to that point they have alienated others in the union. As I said, Quebec offers so many interesting and important insights.
Always 2 sides to a story..i am french canadian...
I have watched pretty much all videos of JJ Mc About Quebec. The guy is probably insane. In some video his comments are accurate. In some others, he trashes and lies throught his teeths. There is a significant amout of english candians that have nothing but despising views of quebec and in hour country, it's remarcably accepted to publicaly insul the french speaking population.
@@MONFLYINGSAUCER as a bilingual Canadian from Ontario, I agree.
He seems to think Canada should not be a bilingual country because having bilingual prime ministers makes people from almost 100% english speaking provinces never get elected.
That is the issue of the western provinces, not the Quebecois!
@@merenranemtyemsaf7874 One concern that he seems to have, and I assume is wide spread in english Canada is that mandatory bilingality for the PM results in an overrepresentation of quebecers as PM. I beleive indeed that this missreprensentation is a problem, only 1/4 PM should come from Quebec, but I have no idea how to adjust this. He seems to not understand that, without this requirement, Québec would have separated. The reason is it would have prevented quebecers such as Trudeau and Chrétien to convinve just enought francophones to vote to stay in Canada.
In 100 years, French will be forgotten, and Indian will become the second national
Free Quebec from Tudeau's occupation forces.
Kashmirs and modis?’
As a Quebecman, all I can say mister Ker-Lyndsay, is that you are quite accurate. By the way, our former prime minister Jacques Parizeau has also studied at the London School of Economics. Thank you for this report. One of the reasons why the support for independance has dropped is that with massive immigration the federalists parties get more voters, voters that are for Canada first.
Thank you so much. I appreciate the kind comment. And thanks for the extra insight.
uh if you can't figure out why all of Canada needs immigration you obviously are incapable of much fore thought.
@@alpearson9158 reading is not where you shine.
he did not say canada needs no immigration.
More likely you haven't got any good reasons to leave. The best excuse I've ever heard
was you think in Quebec you'd be better off without Canada, but it just goes to show the
lack of a good reason and lack of reasoning most of you cement head separatists have.
More likely crying wolf whenever you want more Federal funding.
@@hugostiglitz2388 We mostly want to protect what we have ( culture, nature, language ) and I dont see it happening if we stay in Canada
It's strange to watch this from the perspective of a French Canadian, especially since every time I have heard an English speaker talk about Quebec, I automatically assume they're going to attack us. It's gotten to the point where I'm slowly beginning to take it personally. This may seem a little "overboard," but as a 15-year-old, it started to make me dislike certain people and places in the country. I don't desire it, but the level of verbal abuse we get from those people and places has made me see them as enemies rather than allies. When I first clicked on this video, I was afraid, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I was shocked to see someone truly cover this while remaining neutral. Thank you for making this and not identifying us as racists, even though we are stereotyped as such. I had to add that last part because it makes me feel like absolute garbage when people believe I am racist and a jerk because of where I was born and the language I speak. Once more, thank you.
And, as a side note, I am not attempting to generalize anyone, and I apologize if I upset you. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section; I will read them all. After all, there are two sides to every story, and if this helps me comprehend your viewpoints and feelings, I will gratefully acknowledge it.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I look at independence movements and so I do naturally have a degree of sympathy for peoples who want to choose their own path. It may not always be the right thing for them, but I do believe that people should have the right to choose. And I find the case of Quebec so very interesting. I remember how big an issue it was at the start of the 1990s, and yet it seems relatively quiet these days, at least as compared to Catalonia and Scotland. I had wanted to take a look at it for ages. I am just glad that you felt that I did the subject justice and tackled it fairly. And you certainly didn't offend me. In fact a number of commentators have raised the same point, which makes me such that there is clearly a way that Anglophones approach the subject.
(Ironically, and as an aside, the week before I did this video, I looked at the Anglophone crisis in Francophone Cameroon. Not really a mirror image, of course, but there was an interesting symmetry.)
Quebec has made some pretty big enemies, especially in the west. The abuse is not warranted, but even as a quebequois I can understand why some western provinces dislike us. Mainly all the money they gave to quebec, quebec's attempt to stop Alberta's economy growth. The fact that Quebec is in terms of election more important than all of the western provinces even tough we are less people in QC we get more elected officials.
"You are racist, because you were born in Quebec"
That sounds quite racist to me 😅
The independance problem has pretty much solved itself . The Federal politicians fall all over themselves to please Quebec every whimper while turning their backs on the morals and integrity of the rest of the county . You can,t blame them for being anti Quebec . Many anglo Quebecers fought and died in wars and settied many parts of Quebec and then were stripped of basic human rights .
@@albertocruz.8034 There even was an university professor spewing that on Twitter.....
Full support from India 🎉❤
India is your home.
*WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER. MEABE ITS POSSIBLE TO RETARD THE INEVITABLE. BUT YOU CANT KILL AN IDEA* !
*VIVE LE QUÉBEC FORT ET LIBRE MES FRÈRES ET SOEURS* !
Retourne ds les années 90
@@mat3714 l'Indépendance sera toujours nécessaire tant et aussi longtemps que les Québécois seront une nation distincte du reste du Canada (donc sera toujours d'actualité)
Vive le Québec libre 💙⚜️
@@sludgydude8187 vraiment bien dit ! :P
@@sludgydude8187 👍🏼
@@linefrenette9116 💙
Quebecer here,
Really amazing video James. Well thought-out and it explained really well the political history of Quebec.
I would like to add some interesting points about the current situation in Quebec, as I currently live here and understands the current sentiment of the population.
- The Clarity act of 1998 has probably changed the way for political parties in Quebec to gain more autonomy. The CAQ leader, François Legault, has said that he was tired of the independence movement for every election, while still wanting the province to gain more autonomy from the federal governement bit by bit, which is what is happening right now. I think that probably a lot of quebecers now see the referendum has an impossible attempt, but nevertheless, the idea of a more autonomous Quebec has never faded and is still really strong.
- When PM Stephen Harper declared that "Quebec is a nation", it was kind of a hollow gift given to Quebec during elections as a PR stunt because it didn't changed anything legally. But now, Quebec government has decided to take this "nation" identity really seriously and has decided to declare to Ottawa that it can change its constitution on its own without federal intervention, which is a pretty big thing happening right now. It was also approved unanimously in Quebec parliament.
- While Quebec's core demographics will change over years with immigration, I don't think its cultural identity and political desire for autonomy will be discouraged by newcomers. The main reason is this : Quebec's approach to immigration is interculturalism while the rest of Canada (ROC) is multiculturalism. This is extremely important to understand how Quebec still feels apart from the rest because it is welcoming for anyone who wants to live in the province, as long as they learn and live within the "Culture Québécoise". The multiculturalism of the ROC doesn't explicitely wants people to integrate the culture of Canada and they can live within their own cultural and religious group, as long as they abide to the law. Quebec is way more upfront in wanting foreigners to integrate within the already existing québécois culture simply because we think our situation as a fragile one in America. In Quebec we talk a lot about being "A french sea surrounded by an english ocean" because of Canada and USA and so this intercultural system has been put in place for decades now. These Inter/Multi immigration policies is also again separating Quebec's and Canada's core values and over the years, it could well again be challenged by Ottawa and Quebec could still be really angry if they try to intervene.
Thank you so much Alexandre! That is incredibly interesting and helpful. It is always brilliant to get views from on the ground. I really appreciate the insights, as I’m sure others reading through the comments on this video will. (This is one of the things I really love about doing the channel. I get these wonderful contributions that really help to clarify things.) The thoughts on immigration were really fascinating. It will be so interesting to see how this all plays out. Will the Quebecois model of interculturalism really be able to add an alternative identity layer on new arrivals that maintains a sense of separateness within Canada or even keeps the possibility of independence in play.
Hi Paradis, I am a Couture descendant from the founders of Quebec. My line ended up in Alberta (the east populated the west) and I ended up moving to Quebec City not that long ago. I have a unique perspective as a French-Canadian descendant from the west. I was never for separation because I viewed it as Canada's origin. I guess its more of an identity crisis I am experiencing. I love Quebec because it's our heritage and origin. From Normandy to Canada, New France. We spoke French in Alberta with Quebec accents. I have a small accent I'm told from Quebecers. I agree with your comment.
Accurate....well when it comes to comparing areas of countries Mr Lindsay is NOT accurate AT ALL. Check what I had to write to Mr. Lindsay. Mr. Lindsay listen to yourself in minute 2:30. You say that Quebec is roughly the same size as Ukraine. WRONG. You confuse the meter ( International System) and the imperial English system of measurements (mile in this case). The area of Quebec is 1,542,056 km2 OR (595,391 sq mi). The area of Ukraine is 603,628 km2 OR (233,062 sq mi). For your information a mile is NOT a kilometer. You got confused 😕. Quebec is 2.5 ( two and a half) the size of Ukraine. Your statement is WRONG. If you do not believe me I suggest that you check Wikipedia yourself.
@@josevilas4927 and how many times have you copy pasted this comment now?
So I guess the ultimate long term goal is essentially a kind of non sovereign country (I believe is the term) such as Wales which falls under the umbrella of a sovereign country. I wonder if Wales would ever try for their own national sports teams as well...
I’m surprised that the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord were not mentioned. The failure of these two was credited with re-igniting the separatist movement in Quebec. The failure of these two led Lucien Bouchard to quit the federal cabinet and start a federalist Independence Party, the Bloc Québécois.
As a Canadian who lived through the two referenda, I feel that the Meech Lake Accord is an important part of the story.
I would have also mentioned the cause of those failed agreements : the 1982 amendment to the constitution (which was the "change" that PET promised against a "no" vote in 1980l, and the refusal by Québec to sign it (and the fact that to this day Québec hasn't signed the amended constitution of Canada).
However there is an infinite amount of stuff that could be said about this issue. Overall the video is still quite good.
@@audetnicolas still a good video but the re-opening of the constitution for Quebec meant that it had been opened for other groups as well. Elijah Harper stopped Manitoba from ratifying but his issue was First Nations, not Quebec.
@@randalltilander6684 That is technically true about Elijah Harper but at the time including aboriginals wasn't the goal. It was intended to persuade the government of Quebec to symbolically endorse the 1982 constitutional amendments by providing for some decentralization, distinct society, etc. Charlottetown showed that there was no public support for such an arrangement. Quebec's minimum demands go beyond what Canada is wiling to offer. The final result is the same: Québec still hasn't ratified the latest version of the Constitution. It would be disingenuous to pretend that it is because of aboriginal issues.
@@audetnicolas it is not just technically true but practically true as well. While Mulroney and Bourassa may have had it as their goal to get Quebec’s signature on the constitution, they were two of eleven premiers. Beyond the premiers, there were others, like the First Nations, who needed to be onside because they had the power to block ratification. It was a back room deal.
From my part of the country, the problem was the vagueness of the “distinct society clause”. Our leaders refused to define the term. Mulroney told us to trust him but he had all of the trust-worthiness of a used-car salesman. That’s why the other provinces turned against Meech Lake.
@@randalltilander6684 From Quebec, the problem with "distinct society" was also the vagueness.
So in your opinion, the reason explaining the failure to get Québec back in the Constitution is aboriginal issues, not the failure to reach some sort of "overlap" between what Québec wants and what the ROC is willing to agree to. I think that this is nonsense.
As a Canadian I am extremely impressed with this very balanced presentation!
Me too. All support for independence of Quebec.
Free Quebec from Canada's illegal occupation
I used to have a coworker who was from Quebec who had narrated me the story and the reasoning why they wanted the independence from rest of Canada. At that time, I did not support him but now I would support any such movement.
As Indian i support quebec freedom
I respect Canadian citizens who go for referendum for Khali.... . They have Canadian citizenship but then also they can vote for other countries internal matter. They have showed us what to do.We Indians should learn from them and conduct a referendum for independence of Quebec in India. If Canadians can vote for referendum, for part of India, why we Indians can't vote for referendum for Quebec. Actually all voting for khalistan are Canadians citizens.
Nobody wants your 3rd world opinion
@@Xix234. then tell your clown pm to not interfere in our internal matters or else be ready for 3rd world opinion. All support to Quebec freedom
@@Xix234. Also it's better to be 3rd world country than l!ck muricas st!nky @$$
Quebec indep3ndence referendum will happen in Bharat for Quebecois living in Bharat.
Based on that independence vote Canada must vacate Quebec
As a Québécois, I am surprised at this very good analysis, thanks for making the video!
Thank you very much indeed Julien. It has been going through a bit of a renaissance this week.
Good video. The parti quebecois is now at the #1 spot in quebec polls. We are now talking about independence everyday in the media for the past 2 weeks.
Thanks so much. That’s really interesting. I had in fact seen a spike in views on this video recently and wondered what was behind it. I should perhaps take another look at the issue.
That will never happen considering the amount of immigrants the federal government allowed to come to Quebec. The passing of bill 96 shows how many people opposed the implementation of the said bill, more to the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada.
@@wanderpoltv4990 im an immigrant and I vote yes lol
the 2023 polls for Québec independence are at 38% an increase of 6% and it continues to rise
We indians support you
@@badshots6981merci l'ami ⚜️🔵❤️🇮🇳
All Bharatiye support Quebec freedom
One of the best english youtuber adressing Québec issues!!
#freequebec We support quebec independence
As Indian who support Western values of freedom of expression I extended my support to Quebec Movement
they don't need your support fix your country first
@@Coxirt Supporting has nothing to do with fix.... As a free individual from the free world who has an independent opinion can do whatever one like.....
If Quebec didn’t want to sell separate before it certainly should now. As a Canadian, I am embarrassed and saddened by the actions of my government was regard to the Ukraine war. They do not represent me. If most of Canadians were not propagandized to the actual hilt by a media that has sold out, and I do mean sold out and by a government media outlet, the CBC as well, most of them would see that this is horrific. Also, as a Canadian, I’m scared because. i’m a person living in disability and yes, perhaps introducing a Nazi and calling him a great Canadian was done by accident but really I don’t think so. There is no way they couldn’t have known. He was a Nazi and Christia Freeland deputy Prime Minister and finance minister has a grandfather who is a Nazi Ukraine, so yes, I’m scared and yes if I were in Quebec, I would be voting to separate immediately. Am I also ashamed terribly ashamed. Thank God for Russia. They’re the charge to save the world.
@@Blade-ny9ui What will I get or not that's not ur lookout. I can extend my support whoever I wish. U English speaking have dominated the French speaking for years. Its time for them to rise up against the oppression.
You can move to russia if you want@@MrBoomersfriend
Wow, I never knew about this interesting story behind Quebec! Thank you so much James for this revelation. You are a good lecturer I must say!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I hope all is well with you.
@@JamesKerLindsay Yes sir, am doing well.
VIVE QUEBEC LIVRE
I'm American and Panamanian. I'm 27 years old. I live in Montréal. I speak English, French, and Spanish. I'm in support of Québec independence.
As a Canadian from Ontario I love the fact that we have a French speaking part.
The autonomist approach of the CAQ actually strenghtened Quebec nationalist expression, with most political parties in Quebec aligned on a variety of issues. That stance challenges Canada on key issues. If Canada would buck on these issues and impose restrictions on Quebec autonomy, no doubt that the discontentement could feed into the independance movement.
absolutely... Legault, in spite of himself (perhaps not?), might be a Trojan horse for independance...
@@francoislatreille6068 never gonna happen, even he wont, he says repeatedly that he wants to prioritize the economy, seperating or even talks of a referendum is economic suicide, quebec has still yet to fully recover from the 1980 referendum.
@@alainouellet7794 t’as du manquer le bout ou Trudeau père fait tout en son pouvoir pour détruire l’économie du Québec, merci à nos fédérastes colonisés de services.😘
Maybe, but Montreal is more English speaking than ever and that has happened literally in the course of two years or so. Now if you go to the Plateau, you hear English 80% of the time, whereas it was a French stronghold only 3 years ago. All "cool" parts of the city like Little Italy are being taken over by recent immigrants from Toronto and Vancouver who fled their provinces in the times of pandemic for the cheaper Montreal where, having more money than the locals, they bought a lot of properties (and rented even more). To their credit, it looks like they're making more effort to use French in shops and cafes than monolingual English Montrealers
Canada just has to wait a little longer and that's it. Netflix, Amazon Prime and RUclips / Tiktok have been Americanizing the youth very fast. If they wait for one more generation, there will be no local sentiment to speak of.
I have always been very interested and concerned about Canada and specifically about Quebec, I enjoyed very much the video, thank you.
I'm a Canadian who speak French as main language. At 69 years old I voted twice against the independence. Today I regret it and if there was a referendum to be hold, it's sure that I would vote for the separation from Canada. You have your country where we are just another minority, thanks to Trudeau father and son. That was not the deal. Also, the federation doesn't work as the money is in Ottawa and the needs are in Québec. Nothing against Canadian that are friends and would remain as.
spoken like a true frenchman
Go back to france Antoinette 😂
1837-1838 Rebellion was not about French against English, it's a common mistake to think so. It was about having a real democracy, and the chief and chosen president of the Lower Canada republic was Robert Nelson, an english speaker of Quebec!
In fact, a minor rebellion happened in Upper Canada (Ontario) too, where there was a big majority of english speakers.
Those events were used as a very good excuse to try to assimilate all the french people of Canada in 1840. French canadian were called an "inferior race" in official government report and was said to have no culture, so we should disapear by assimilation.
In many ways, the domination of the British rules over the citizen of Quebec created the independance movement and still explains it's existence today since this domination is not over (destruction of Quebec's law by the Canadian constitution not signed by Quebec, no control on immigration, big lack of french education funding all over Canada, and the list is still long).
Quebec should go. They force other Canadians who have no use for it to learn French.
Freedom is a fundamental rights of people (independence)
We didn't abandon the idea...we are regrouping ...Je me souviens 1763.
🇲🇶💯
Great video. But two jarring miss, Quebec never signed the Canadian constitution. The Labrador gift to Newfoundland was made against Quebec's will and is still not recognized.
Happy you made this video as I've been looking for a more modern discussion about Quebecois independence ever since accidentally biking past the Quebec building in central London. It blew my mind that they had a embassy-like office (so did Northern Cyprus').
Would love to see an explanation of Newfoundland's 1930's financial crisis and temporary return to British rule, though I know you tend to focus more on modern international relations.
Thanks so much Jack. Yes, it’s interesting how regions are increasingly establishing their own representative offices (embassies in waiting) abroad. Flanders also does this.
And it’s funny you should mention Newfoundland. I’ve actually started working on a script for it. (Not sure when I’ll make it though. I try to keep ‘evergreen’ scripts in reserve for when I hit busy work periods.) I’ve long been fascinated in the idea that it could’ve been the fourth independent North American country. I do tend to focus on current situations, but it’s great to throw in historical cases from time-to-time!
Many other provinces have embassy-like offices too such as Alberta
And it makes sense when you think about it. As the population within a representative democracy grows, that democracy becomes less and less representative. More representatives can be elected to make up for the population growth, but there is a limit to how many representatives a political system can have until it becomes too unwieldy. Secession is a way to decentralize the power and bring power back to the people.
VIVE LE QUÉBEC LIBRE! ✊
As a young anglophone pro-independance Quebecer, I applaud the accuracy of this video
Would an independent Quebec be bilingual, monolingual, not have an official language, or something else?
@@jayrogers8255 it would be francophone 100%, in high school, most history teachers are separatists and they present the english language and the English people has the devil lol.
@@jayrogers8255 official language would be French
They would ban you from speaking English, Quebecors are the most anglophobic people on the planet
That's a good subject!!! Why are you independentist?
As an Indian I support Quebec's Freedom
I am using my right of freedom of speech & expression for supporting
Quebec's freedom movement
Ok indian bot
@@GG-hi5if Bot? Do you even know the meaning of bot?
Jahil gawar😂🤣
Great! Perhaps, you could copy the federal law to allow independence from regions in your own country as well!
@@minimumlikelihood6552 No I don't have to copy anyone, but if some country want to break my country then I wish the same for that specific country tit for tat simple!
I am a 32 years old Quebecer and I have always been for independence.
Hi! I’m a student from Ontario currently learning about Quebec nationalism. I’ve done some research about the topic, but I’d be interested to know… why are you personally for separation? Is it because of history and/or because you think Quebec would be better off alone?
I would also love to know why you think this 👍
I'm a quebecor and im for the independance too:we are for because of the two reasons you have say, mainly to maintain our language who is unique and it will be easier to develop our territory and exploit our ressources
Separatists are often socialists with little regard for economics
I’ll be 68 in 2 months. I’m for independence of Quebec all my life. I hope it comes before I die. I’ve not seen the Rockies, but I went in the Alps, Pyrénées, Himalayas (Everest and Annapurna range) and the Andes where i felt welcomed everywhere. Going to Alberta or B.C., not much interested of having my trailer vandalized or myself been bashed. VLQL.
Quebec being a homeland of French speaking persons should be an Independent country.
I support the freedom of Quebec. Voting should be conducted and results should be submitted to UN.
We, Indians also fully support its freedom and creation as a separate Republic.
What about Kashmir, indian bot?
@@GG-hi5if as a kashmiri i would vote to remain in India that is Bharat.
As a Québécois, I find that we don't often get a fair treatment from anglo commenters when it comes to explaining these issues. This video is a shining exception. It's a bit brief and it skips over a few interesting points, but the big picture is accurate. I was worried when I saw the title, but what a relief it was to listen to the whole thing,
Are you sure you're a québécois? Ur not speaking French
@@puchokoffie8152 Ben quoi? Tu parles bien anglais même si tu es un bot Russe, non?
@@puchokoffie8152 dude why would we speak in french when we're adressing our comments mainly to english speakers.
@@puchokoffie8152 chill dude wtf
"As a Québécois, I find that we don't often get a fair treatment from anglo commenters when it comes to explaining these issues. "
Maybe if the Quebec government didn't keep passing laws designed to eliminate English from the province the rest of the country wouldn't view Quebec as the spoiled brat of the country.
As a Quebecer, I feel way more Canadian than Quebecer. Yes french is my first language, but its also an official Canadian language. I am bilangual, but i never and will never lose my french or stop speaking it because I consume nore english. I would vote no everyday of the week, it makes no sense economicaly and socialy. Other Canadian love us now and we love them also. We are way stronger and better off economicaly as a province and we can still keep our Quebecer nationality and culture that is indeed, different from the rest of canada, even tho personally I really dont vibe with our culture lol.
Glad to know that there are Quebecer's that feel that way.
Tout ce que tu dit n’es que de l’endoctrinement fédéraliste. Non, la culture Québécoise, le français, la protection et nos institutions et de nos décisions n’ont aucune avenir dans le Canada. Les belles pensés que tu dit comme quoi les canadiens nous aiment et que nous les aimions en retour est (en plus d’être peu pertinent) un mensonge. Il suffit de regarder les nouvelles politiques quotidiennes pour y voir le Canada systématiquement se foutre du Québec. Le Canada ne respecte pas les décisions du Québec et se permet de faire du Québec bashing vu comment le Québec est de moins en moins important d’un point de vue nombres de siège à l’assemblée fédérale. Deuxième point, tu dit que les finances d’un Québec souverain serait absurde. Je suis d’accord avec toi que si nous voulons le Québec étant membre dans un État le plus puissant possible et bien restons dans le Canada. Puis formons un seul pays avec les États-Unis. Puis un autre énorme pays avec la Chine, l’Allemagne puis aussi la Russie…À ce moment nous serons dans la plus grande puissance économique. Cependant est-ce que nos volontés seront bien respectées. Là est tout le problème. Un Québec souverain pourra garder les 60 quelques milliards de dollars qu’il envoie à Ottawa puis les investir dans nos projets, nos problèmes et nos réalités qui sont biens différentes de ceux du reste du Canada. Dire que le Québec dans le Canada est plus prospère est un calcule non fondé qui relève de l’endoctrinement politique. Plusieurs étude prouve qu’un Québec souverain aurait largement les moyens d’être un pays et en plus prospère. Le jour 1 où nous serons indépendant, le Québec sera 21e selon le PIB par habitant nous hissant devant des pays que nul remettrais la légitimité de leur indépendance tel que l’Italie, le Japon, l’Espagne, le Portugal et bien d’autre.
Je finirai ce message en citant Pierre Falardeau: «Moi je n’abandonnerai jamais. [...] Si on choisit collectivement d’abandonner, y’a un prix à payer pour ça. Si on choisit de s’écraser, si on choisit de s’allonger, le monde y vont s’essuyer les pieds sur nous autres. Pis les peuples qui meurent, ça meurt longtemps. Pis c’est douloureux, pis ça fait mal. Faque, si vous décidez d’abandonner ça va être bin long, pis ça va être tough. Vous avez besoin d’être tough.»
De ce constat une seule décision nous reste, s’affranchir de tous nos pouvoirs en se battant pour l’indépendance du Québec.
Quebecer? You mean Québécois?
Bilingualism leads to anglicization. Quebec-bashing in the ROC is considered acceptable. You have the right to you opinion, but it is, ultimately, wrong.
They love you less than you think.
Take away the language laws and French would become a minority language in less than 100 years. Probably less than 50.
1995 question
“ Do you agree that Quebec should become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Quebec and of the agreement signed on June 12, 1995?”
If the question was not so convoluted it would not have been that close.
No. Everybody knew what it meant. I was in high school and everybody understood what was going on.
on the topic of canada, i've seen posts on the internet about a potential alberta/western canada independence movement, which claims that the ontario-based government are now paying too much attention to quebec and subsequently less to the western parts of canada. what do you guys think of this?
It's more centered around Alberta the anywhere else in Western Canada. There is a possibility of the Alberta independence movement growing to match Quebec's, but it'll take a lot more that anything that's happened yet for it to expand much past that particular province.
Thanks a lot. Interesting.
Thanks for the great suggestion. I do want to look into this. A few people have raised it as a topic.
@@Mangocharlie Nope, Saskatchewan is even more conservative. Libtards dominate Ontario and Eastern Canada but are marginal in BC and Manitoba too. It's a matter of time before Western Canada cannot take Trudeau-style idiocy any more. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Canadian_federal_election#/media/File:Canada_2019_Federal_Election.svg
@@duerandaggi Cats are fun.
As a Indian I support Quebec
merci
Quebec (1.68 million sq. kms) is more than 2.5 times the size of Ukraine (0.62 million sq. kms) and not at all comparable in size as you mentioned.
But the Ukrainians, have much more heart then we do.
Don't worry, we from India🇮🇳 will support Quebec's independence/ separation from Trudeau's 🇨🇦Canada!
I do, vive le quebec libre
💀💀
One of my colleagues at work in Toronto, about 30 years ago, turned out to be a francophone from Quebec City, the provincial capital of Quebec. I remember something she said once, to the effect that her perception of the rest of Canada changed completely once she lived outside Quebec and saw how very different ordinary Canadians were from the perceptions Quebeckers got from their government and media. I expect the same would be said by most non-Quebeckers that spent more than a few days in Quebec. It made me think that every Canadian high school student would benefit from spending a year living outside of their home province in some kind of exchange program.
Canadians definitely need to see more of their country. There are people that basically just know Toronto or Vancouver or wherever. They just know their one area, and know nothing about the rest of the country.
Sorry to burst your bubble, I lived 5 years in Alberta and I often witnessed the discrimination faced by French-speaking communities,,,, And when I returned to Quebec I became a separatist.
Canadian Multiculturalism is just a shitty facade
@@linefrenette9116 Et moi j'ai travaillé deux ans en Alberta et j'ai eu de très belle rencontre. De plus, j'ai des amis anglophones qui viennent ici au Québec et ils se font répondre "ici c'est en français ostie". Par sur que cela soit plus accueillant. Ils doivent surement agir comme vous quand ils rentrent dans leur province et se disent "let them go away" . Malheureusement, la stupidité n'est pas une caractéristique d'un seul peuple mais elle est universelle. On doit juste s'efforcer de ne pas en faire partie.
@@ericcothenet9709 L'expérience peut être différente d'une personne à l'autre et moi aussi j'y ai eue des amis des deux langues qui ont eu de très bonnes expériences au Québec mes amis ne sont pas hautain comme plusieurs le sont.
Peut être que tes amis le sont.
En passant mon beau-père est Britannique et il ne s'est jamais fait dire "ici au Québec ont est français ostie"et pourtant ça fait 49 ans qu'il vit à Québec.
@@linefrenette9116 If Quebec seperates, this would weaken the position of francophones in other provinces
We Indians give full support to Quebec independence
India is your home.
Ok indian bot
Brother, you will never have sex with a white women in India :D
Merci! Full support to India's independence too and may Bharat become a superpower and a reasonable voice that influence positively the world!
Merci l'ami ⚜️🔵❤️🇮🇳
As someone from the younger generation in Quebec, I think that a reason for the decline in wanting independence is that we think we don't have our shit together. I would be on the fence if another referendum came around tomorrow. I would love to see us independent, but we struggle in many aspects. Our hospitals are overcrowded, our infrastructure (for example; roads) is old and dilapidated, etc. I would be a lot more willing to have independence if we were able to get our house in order first.
Thanks, Nicholas. That’s really interesting to hear. I often get the sense that similar sentiments exist in Scotland. Many just feel that it wouldn’t be particularly well run if it became independent.
@@JamesKerLindsay However, what a lot of people fail to notice is that a lot of this "mismanagement" originates with people and parties that are overtly federalist. For instance, the many scandals we had in respect to the construction industry, which largely explain our crumbling infrastructure, were directly caused by our provincial Liberal party (under Premier Jean Charest). Many people feel like this was orchestrated at least in part to make our provincial government (i.e. national government in waiting) seem inept.
@@louisd.8928 Good point but still, too many civil workers over here who don't give a damn. Those civil workers are mainly Québécois. Them and their union demands killed us.
@@CdeHavillandMosquito Can you please elaborate further? I'm not entirely certain I understand your point.
Honnêtement en tant qu'immigrant, si l'indépendance passe le Canada va probablement se démembrer et intégrer les US. Si cela arrive, je rentrerai dans mon pays, car crise économique, financière, fiscale, infrastructurelle, garantie. J'ai choisi de rejoindre le Québec ET le Canada, en bon français ce serait un "dealbreaker". Mais vous inquiétez pas, si un autre référendum arrive, je voterai pas même si j'en aurais l'opportunité, c'est à vous vrais québécois et canadiens de choisir.
Fix? at 4:29 : The reason of these rebellions wasn't really because of the language difference, but it was more a fight between French Canadians and the British people. (It was a fight for culture and power, not just language)
I lived in Canada 14 years. 10 in Montreal & 4 in Ontario. They are like different countries. Language and culture feel completely different. I think the reason the independent movement died down is because Quebec is satisfied they maintained their francophone identity & culture without independence.
I guess you can say it has been maintained but with Quebec being a part of Canada it's going to be the death of Quebec, it already is.
Quebecois want to protect their identity and culture while the Canadian values are Diversity, inclusivity, and multiculturalism. I think if Quebec doesn't secede it will be the death of Quebec, especially with more and more other cultures moving in
Francophone strategy worked. All they had to do was whine about something or other, and with media support Ottawa coughed, whine again and Ottawa coughed, whine some more and Ottawa coughed. Two failed independence Referendum's and still Ottawa coughed. Today Quebec independence is yesterdays news and of little interest to new generations of educated Quebecers. They have taken over from backwoodsmen from back in days of yore and recognize Canadian citizenship is among the most prized and contains a whole host of goodies. Does it get any better?
One key point: it was revealed that federal funds were used to campaign against independence in 1995. Additionally, citizenship decisions were expedited to entice immigrants to vote against independence. Once these 2 facts were exposed, the former leading to a public inquiry, many people felt that any future attempt would suffer the same fate and thus gave up on ever revisiting the issue.
federal funds are justified seeing as it is a matter of national security
@@junefranklin458 If your democratic rights would be violated fraudulently by the government in the name of security, you'd have a different opinion on the matter.
@@junefranklin458 you are confusing security with integrity
It was nevertheless illegal.
@@mathieugariepy2948 absolument d'accord
I lived in Montreal during the 1980 Referendum. It was really inspiring. One of my separatist friends Michel said, 'Yes, he thought an independent Quebec would suffer economically, but it was so important an issue he was willing to accept this." I wish my fellow Americans (US) were as reasonable about their passions. (Since then I think several paths to economic success have become clear.) And on election day everybody left Vieux Montreal - where I lived and worked - to go home and vote. I've never seen an election in the States where everybody votes.
What happened is the polls were neck and neck with René Levesque's Parti Quebecois doing quite well. Then a week or two before the vote, Premier Pierre Trudeau came to Quebec and started to campaign against sovereignty association. The only thing bigger in Quebec than Trudeau, was maple syrup and Elvis. He seemed irresistible. Also one of the female leaders of the Sovereignty campaign made a wisecrack that any woman who voted against separation was just a little Yvette (some old school submissive wife in kid's books or something.) The backlash was immediate and significant. The anti-separatist women organized the Yvette Movement linking feminism, equality with anti-separatism.
The old/young gap you discuss also makes a lot of sense to me. I knew a lot of French Canadian women and they seemed to almost run everything, they'd run Canada, or the world, if the chance arose. They were almost all fully bilingual. Though it was their grandmothers who were the backbone of the Quiet Revolution, I've never met a population of women who insisted on complete equality in every facet of life and work. The working class men on the other hand, many of them the husbands of these women, often had weak English skills, lower education levels. often seemed frustrated and angry. I didn't see this in the Quebec youth of 1980 - 42 years ago. To me an outsider it often seemed that those French Canadian men were just angry for no reason, then I met a some old, wealthy, English Canadians who were incredibly bigoted. It was like the old racist American South. I can see where anyone being subjected to them would want to be as separated as possible. The younger people? Bilingualism seemed the mark of being urbane, cool, intelligent with lots of opportunities. I just met a Quebecoise in the Pittsburgh airport, we gave her a ride into town. She was there to do post doctorate medical research. Her English skills were good, but she struggled a bit. So clearly she had had an incredible medical or biology education, earned a PhD - almost entirely in French (as would be the case in France), and was at a level that a major research facility recruited her. That's the Quebec I saw well under way in 1980.
No ones reading any of this.
At the time during the year 1980 many tradesmen were continuing to adjust at work to the change in Canadian business law on April 1, 1975 which required the Metric System to be used always in any engineering firm office or on any construction site. Not all Canadian Francophones were living in Quebec at the time. Like my father here in Alberta. Towns like Beaumont, Alberta and Saint Paul, Alberta had a lot of Francophone Canadians back then and those western towns continue to have a lot of living Francophone Canadians today.
@@randomassname445 J’ai tout lu…
We Indians support Quebec freedom
Admirable, now let sikhs have their own country as well and then you won’t look like a hypocrite.
Im sure you support the Khalistan independence
@@oleksii000 who started it. sikh dont want their own country. a very minute amount of khalistani. and one more thing if they want their own country it doesn't mean they want it from India they can have it from Canada as well.
By the way shall i send a raw agent to deal with you as well .
@@Matazuma Khalistan lol its a joke and a tiny amount of nopbodys
@@ashulivechess well there you go, you are just a regular phone scammer from india then. Hypocrite, nothing else.
Full support for Quebec's freedom. Let's have a vote again.
Quebec, please never leave! We don't want a Quebec shaped hole in our heart! We love you!
- Some guy from Manitoba
Love alone wont do it, after over 160 years of trying to have Quebec recognized as a nation within Canada in the core of the constitution, independence remains our only way to continue being Québécois.
Most don't want to leave it's just the old generation
@@GeenSamaje peux te confirmer que la new gen est majoritairement indépendantiste
I m from Quebec and I m proud to be both Quebecois and Canadian ! Great historical documentary
Bonjour from the United States! I’m watching this because I like your country and I’m also interested in politics, not just in my country, but also in others 🇺🇸🇨🇦❤️
@@MustacheCashStash125 rare from an American, but certainly welcome
oufffff un tapis
Very interesting, I'm a French speaker from Belgium. Leaving into the Flemish part of the country. The will for an independent Flanders is decreasing but on the same time, political parties calling for this are more powerful then ever due to the fact that people choose those parties for several other reasons.
Free Québec !
Yes, do us all a favor and leave.
@@randybell5461 we tried, but you cheated.
I don't know why I am surprised. You have no honor.
Free Quebec
@@jays5926 Li-ber-té!!!!!!
Canada should separate from Quebec.
Proud Québécois independantist here. 'Till the day I die.
Thanks. How do you see the situation today? What should the independence movement be focusing on now?
@@JamesKerLindsay Great video! I'll do my best to give you an intelligent response. As of 2021, the independence movement has roughly 30% support in the population. It's a fact that the two referendum defeats in 15 years have chilled our ardor. I don't mean to give an history class in this comment. It would be too long and the subject is easily accessable for anyone who cares to read it. I'll just say that the history of francos and anglos has been marked by tremendous cooperation, making Canada one of the wealthiest and enjoyable place to live on this planet. It has also been marked by a lot of political, economical, religous, cultural and race conflicts. Whenever those conflicts arise, the anglos use the judiciary, military and police powers to exert domination and assimilation on the francos. This has to stop.
As to what I think the independence movement (and the Québécois people in general) should be focusing on : just keep getting richer and developping the land. As to political action, I like that you pointed out current Prime Minister Francois Legault's strong stance on nationalism through regional autonomy, even though he now says he's not for independence anymore. Legault is perpetuating a trend by the provincial government of Québec to expand it's boundaries and its autonomy. Let's quickly mention Maurice Duplessis in 1954 implementing provincial income taxes. Québec is still today the only province in Canada raising it's own income taxes (raising about 65-70 billion dollars per year while still sending 50 billion dollars per year to the federal government. Also a mention for René Lévesque and the much talked-about language laws in 1977.
Legault is pushing that trend these days with his very much hated (in multicultural elite circles) Law 21. It has now reached the supreme court of Canada. The thing is Legault is using the derogatory clause for this law. This clause was part of of the 1982 constitution, which enables provinces to substract a law to federal courts. If the Supreme Court judges overrule the derogatory clause, there's a very highly chance it will cause massive poltical backlash in Québec, probably leading to the resurgence of the independence movement. Either that or the judges approve Law 21, therefore giving defacto more autonomy to the government of Québec. This Suprement Court ruling will probably have lasting consequences in canadian politics for years to come.
Final words, let us stay strong and keep getting richer. Let us work towards expanding our political influence and power. The rest will come in due time.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate the incredibly helpful and detailed reply. That is really interesting to hear. I have found it such an interesting case. I well remember the 1995 referendum. I was at university at the time and it really was the main independence movement of the day. I just find it fascinating that it isn’t discussed in the way that it once was. Although clearly there is still a sizeable independence movement. It will be really interesting to see how it evolves. In the meantime, thanks so much once again for the really helpful insights!
@@JamesKerLindsay Politics, like war and sports, are often about momentum! I will also add on a personal note that I felt enthused when the Scottish referendum happened. Even though they lost by a small margin like Québec did, it showed me that countries can die and be reborn again. National pride doesn't die suddenly. The Scots have been invaded and subject to english domination way before the french canadians ever did. That referendum taught me that the Scots, despite only 10% of the population speaking gaelic, still feel different than England, even though they speak the same language! I'm optimistic for the future.
@@oursenplus1 im from wallonie and i want to reunite with france, im fed up with the dutch people.
I support Quebec
Quebec should be it's own country it's the best part of Canada the people in America think everyone in Canada speaks French and Quebec has the best national anthem ever 🤔♥️🇲🇫
No. I am Quebecois and I want Quebec to stay.
@@juice8431 why?
Let me tell you something, Quebec can NOT survive on it's own, Quebecer would cry in thier beds if they left because they wouldn't be able to bum off the rest of Canada anymore.
I have a better solution just leave this continent, NOW.
@@randybell5461 it's the other way around Quebec is the major supplier of hydro power to New England and much more you need to get your facts straight
@@megan2484 economics
Hi mister Ker-Lindsay. Thanks for this video. I’m Quebecois (who also lived elsewhere in Canada), and I tell you that I rarely see unbiased report like yours, congratulations.
For those who wonder why the independence movement got so lame, I may offer you my reeding of the situation. The Quebec’s population is divided into three groups (not two). There is a minority who wants the independence; in a referendum they would vote Yes. There is another minority who feels Canadian first; they would vote No. And then, there is the people we never talk about, those who make the difference, those who are the majority; those who just wants the status quo. "Status quo" was not a choice on the 1995’s ballot. It was just Yes or No. Most of them picked the closest choice; No.
This majority of people in favour of status quo, what do they want? They just wants to feel at home, even if they know they are not entirely. They want the Quebec to be autonomous, in Canada (somewhere apart in a corner). Many politicians in both Quebec and Canada are happy buying the peace with this, and win their election, but this inconsistency maintain mutual obstructions and tensions.
In Quebec, the people’s psyche is still in denial with the shame and pain of the 1995’s defeat. In doing so, the new generation has grown up with the independence as a taboo. Plus, they don’t care much about politic, and care more about global than local issues.
If there was a referendum today, for the aforementioned reasons, it would lose again. But, what if people had to choose between one of those two choices:
- Make the independence, by founding the Republique du Quebec (francophone), and give away everything canadian
Or
- Sign the canadian constitution, give away everything typically quebecois, and adopt the canadian way for everything we do (like other provinces).
The result would be very different.
Expect something to evolve in the next 10 years. Quebecois just got themselves out of a 50 years pattern (stock between Liberals and Pequiste). A new party, the CAQ, was elected. It got elected with an autonomous approach. But somehow, and paradoxically, nationalism was relived. Stay tuned, it will be interesting.
Thank you so much for the kind comments and fascinating insights. The strong autonomists can be a powerful force in these situations. I think the same has traditionally been the case in Scotland. But there too things seem to have been moving, albeit for rather different reasons.
No matter what it takes, French must be given a place of priority in Quebec. Every newcomer, and that includes the full gang at Ubisoft, must learn and use this language. If you want to see what will happen if French is not protected, book a trip to New Orleans, where this once majority language has been reduced to little more than folklore.
One should always learn the language of were he wants to live. I believe it respectful. If immigrants wants to only speak English, I understand. But just for convenience alone, there's many more provinces to chose from.
So the rest of Canada shouldn’t have to learn French, their language is English.
At the Federal level bureaucracy, if you're supposed to be a bilingual country, everybody has to be able to speak both languages. If only the French speakers speak English but not the other way around, that's not two official languages. That's just Francophones speaking English. From federal institutions in all provinces and also, on some local neighborhood were French is a thing, people should be able to have services in French. That's what's we're asking. If you live in Quebec, it has one official language. French. I expect to speak in French in public spaces and if you're not a tourist, I'mma let you know we're speaking in French. The same way I don't expect to speak in French in British Columbia or in Toronto because these provinces only have English as an official language.
Right now, there's the double standard like could you imagine the PM if Canada not being able to speak English? Right now the PM of New Brunswick can't speak French and the GG can't speak French three years after her nomination as GG. It's just the double standard of having to accept something you know the other way around would never happened. And I wish First Nations languages to take a have a better place in Canada but I don't want that to be at the expense of French. I think we can find a way to make happy but talking about French in Canada is like talking to a wall in the ROC, at least that's how I feel.
OUI ON LE VEUT !!! 💙⚜️🤍
Thanks for this historic education. This was educational and thought provoking. Keep up the thorough treatments of sometimes unknown and unpopular subjects (to some).
Thank so much Mark. Really appreciated! I’ll try! :-)
Could you do a video about Singapore's independence and separation from Malaysia ? The event was unique because Singapore didn't want independence and was forced out from the Federation of Malaysia.
Thank so much. Great suggestion. In fact, I have a script for Singapore all ready. (I keep a few historical ones in reserve just in case I have a particularly busy week.) As you rightly point out, it is a fascinating case. The only example of a state that essentially came into existence by being expelled from another one. Most states do anything to hold on to their territory! Unfortunately, I’m not sure when I will make it. But I promise it is a topic I’m keen to cover!
@@JamesKerLindsay I will love to watch and learn the Singaporean way out. Please Sir, sacrifice for us! Bring it on. The world will love to know, especially since Singapore got very robust economy than Malaysia in terms!s of global GDP, if am correct! People will love to know how it all happened!
@@peacefulworld1717 actually Malaysia has a robust economy as well. Easily a top three economy in south east asia.
@@VanaeCavae Yes of course but am comparing the two based on past history.
Surprinsingly he chose not to talk about the October crisis : rare moment in North America where Martial Law was implemented
We support qubec movement.
Trudeau should free qubec land.
Trudeau should be in Jail!
Quebec politicians are engineering a death by a thousand cuts approach. Canada cedes a bit more power every year, and eventually Quebec does not need a referendum, it is it's own country.
Quebec already has representatives in the Canadian delegation at the UN and most other international bodies. Quebec is already referred to as a nation. Quebecers already call the Premier of Quebec the Prime Minister of Quebec. Quebec controls it's own immigration and pulls only from french speaking countries. Anyone who wanders into Quebec and does not speak French is given 6 months to learn French or experience language isolation.
Quebec is practically independent already. When they do gain independence, it will merely be a formality. Hopefully the breakup is amicable. Though, I also hope some sense prevails and they chose to remain a province of Canada.
Could you send some links about this?
The Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837-38 wasn't entirely, or I believe even mostly, about tensions between the English and French speaking communities. Rather, it was about the lack of representative government in Lower Canada. Many of the patriotes were English-speaking, such as the Nelson brothers. It was mirrored by a rebellion in Upper Canada.
Yes....I noticed that historical inaccuracy as well.
Yeah just look at the flag , Red white and green,which I think is for english,french and irish, could be wrong tho.
Quebecois here. Mom's family is federalist, Dad's is separatist. So I come at this with an understanding of both factions. From my perspective, it is unlikely that the separatist movement will make much inroads short term. Canada is not perfect, and we Quebecois have many things to rightfully complain about (as do all other Canadian national minorities, first and foremost Aboriginal peoples, but also Acadians, Franco-Ontarians/Albertans etc.), but none are sufficient to challenge the current constitutional status quo. As René Lévesque once said: ''We're paralyzed, but comfortably so''.
This being said, we have our red lines, and if they were to be crossed by other provinces or the federal government, you could see a spike in separatist sentiments.
Among things that could be enough:
1)Trying to make the French language not official anymore at the federal level
2) Political shenanigans to reduce the proprotion of seats we have in the House of Commons
3) Forcing a pipeline through our territory, especially if it crosses the St-Lawrence river, our main source of fresh water
4) Anything that reeks of right-wing, US Republican-style culture wars. For example, if the federal government wanted to limit access to abortion, make guns easier to obtain, uneccessary "terrorism related" wars, pro-Christian and anti-women/LGBTQ+ policies in general (e.g. the gay wedding cake situation)
5) Conscription
If the conservatives get into power be weary of 1 2 and especially, ESPACIALLY 4. Be ready for the culture wars and fasicm coming from ontarioans.
VIVE LE QUÉBEC LIBRE
We need to eliminate the french language permanetly. If you have a problem with that then leave!
@@randybell5461 How? Quebec IS Canada, thats where it started, hard to be more Canadian then someone from Quebec. Without Quebec, the rest of Canada is exactly like the United States.
@@alainouellet7794 What a brain dead notion you have. We're more like Britain.
@MaidenLiberty Typical angry anglo comment
@MaidenLiberty ???
As an Albertan I wish Quebec independence would have a long time ago. Quebec is the number one receiver of transfer payment from the federal government. The number one giver of transfer payment is Alberta. Why would Quebecers favour independence if the federal government continuously pumps money in the province? Would Air Canada's headquarters be in Montreal if the federal government wouldn't force them to be there? Makes no economic sense since Toronto's Pearson airport handles more than double of Montreal's airport.
I must say it's refreshing to see an objective english review of that subject.
Wow! Wonderful, concise, detailed, accurate, and informative. Thank you very much and greetings from Algeria!
Thank you very much indeed!
I shall remain Quebecois not American , there is so much more to know about Quebec and french people . Moi je le sais je vien du Quebec... Vivre le Quebec !
4:24 : these rebellions weren’t led by tensions between communities, but by the desire to obtain a real democracy, more specifically, to obtain an accountable government
I am a Québécoise too, and I was 5 years old at the time. My dad was very passionately in the “No” camp. I studied in political science, and I remember very well being annoyed for a very long time by both federalist and sovereignist political parties… like if independence was the single issue that was most discussed. For older people who lived through 2 referenda, it was still an issue (and politicians are always old people). It left a big red scar (anger, fear, resentment) in our politics and sense of hope for the future. The fear (especially from anglo-Quebecois who have an electoral advantage by being concentrated in an area) helped maintain the “liberal party” of Quebec almost monopolistic position in power by agitating the spectre of referendum every election. They made bad policies that hurt our people.
I’ve always been against secession from Canada (I see all French Canadians as my community, and half my family are Franco-ontarian), but I was disgusted to see it agitated all the time like a strawman by federalist parties. People don’t want another referendum because it was painful, and because there is no support for that at the moment (around 25% only… as you said mostly in people over 55 +). At the same time, Parti Quebecois never got over indépendance and did not really modernize their approach to it. So most people my age only saw the “bad” effect, while at the same time we were concerned by the fight against poverty, climate change, diversity and equality, etc. I was left feeling I had no party representing me, since neither of those party prioritized those issues. The politics is bitter, since anytime we want to protect French language is “racism” or want to have a more secular society (a big value rift with Canadians) we hear about racism too. Now the new party in power is still a Conservative Party, but half nationalist and half conservative. I support the idea behind some policies like secularism, (another over-debated issue here for like 20 years). But I feel the actual party are not the good people to do that, because they mix conservative mindset with secularism and it sucks. They constantly make dumb mistakes like refusing to remove the crucifix from Assemblée nationale and insist on receiving less immigrants. Their not credible secularists, in my opinion. Damn I ’m tired of Quebec politics and it’s old bickering XD
Finally, one thing about the Patriote uprising that we often forget… is that it was not in essence against a English as a language or ethnicity, they were asking for “responsible government” and more autonomy for the colony; they demanded representation. And lots of anglophone participated in the uprising. It was reinterpreted a bit in Quebecois historiography as an Quebecois secession movement, but it was more Canadian at the time and the Patriot cemetery has a lot of English names too
As a indian we support free quebec movement because it's our freedom of expression
I really liked the video. I'm a french canadian from Quebec and still want independence. Sadly, I don't connect with the Parti Québécois.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. It’s never easy tackling issues from a distance. But I hope I hit the main points through. And your situation is very familiar. This is the case in many similar cases. Many pro-independence supporters in Scotland are opposed to the SNP.
Ya pas juste le parti québécois qui est souverainiste.... QS l'est aussi ... La CAQ peut être un jour... Il faut arrêter de seulement associer l'independance a ce parti qui n'est pas resté fidèle au rêve qui l'a enfanté (qui a mal vieilli)
@@sludgydude8187 Je vote QS, mais il ne faut pas se leurrer, ce parti n'a pas de chance dans un avenir proche d'être même près d'obtenir l'opposition officielle.
@@felixgagne5996 c'est pour ça qu'il faudrait unir les forces indépendantistes... Mais avec les boomers du PQ, je comprends que les membres de QS ne veulent pas fusionner avec eux
@@sludgydude8187 T'as pas à t'en faire plusieurs voteur boomers ainsi que ceux et celles qui ont retourné leur vestes sont prêt à voter pour le QS
Anything goes around comes around one day! the difference is that, the present Quebec government is passing all kind of laws that's in favor of french language.
They are going to independence with no referendum.
Quebec should be Independent from 🇨🇦
I wish we'd gotten the hell outta Canada in 95
Why? I am curious to know what’s the problem there,
Canada seems too peaceful for there to be a secessionist movement, I mean you guys have pretty great healthcare and a nice social safety net.
I would like to know more if you’ve got time
@@nineten9011 I'll spare you an essay by giving you a simple analogy. Québec is as linguistically and culturally distinct from Canada as France is from the United Kingdom and therefore requires it's independence to insure the protection of it's identify and the integration of immigrants within It's French Canadian culture. To elaborate further would take too much time but let's simply say that Canada's multiculturalist vision of the country makes its difficult for our government to put forward politics that facilitate the integration of immigrants and the protection of our language. Every attempted constitutional reform to fix this problem has unfortunately failed. The 1995 referendum saw 60% of native Québécois (french Canadians of Québec) voting for a split but since 99% of English and 95% of allophones (neither french Canadians nor English) voted to stay we lost our independence by 1% and never have gotten over it. Anyways I've talked too much but it's not just a matter of living peacefully. It's a matter of protecting our language and culture as well as integrating immigrants well and not having a government which appears foreign to us (Canada's government) having powers over us which should be in our hands.
@@nineten9011 Why wouldn't we want to make our own decisions and control our destiny? It should be very obvious why anyone wants to be independant...to be free god dammit!!!!
@@megan2484 calm down I didn’t say anything all I did was ask what’s the reason as I wanted to know
@@michaelbourdages4777 sorry it took a while for me to reply thanks for the run down and it’s understandable the decline of a culture is pretty sad, I think those problems would go away if immigration was reformed but that’s just my two cents in it really.
I was in high school when Bill 101 was passed, then in CEGEP for the first referendum, and in Ontario in 1995. Intense moments in Canadian history. Je me souviens.
missconceptions about equalization in canada : Alberta often argues that it is paying for equalization, but that’s not quite right. No provincial government pays. Equalization is a federal program, funded by federal income taxes and other revenue. And Albertans are subject to exactly the same federal tax rates as other Canadians. The reason the province is a net payee into the federal treasury and equalization, rather than a net recipient, is because Albertans, on average, have higher incomes than other Canadians. It’s similar to someone making $100,000 a year and wondering why she paid more in taxes than her neighbour who earned $20,000 less.
Quebec is usually a target of Mr. Kenney’s ire, but on a per-capita basis the top beneficiaries of equalization are actually New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
Thats not taking into consideration the billions in tax credit that the oil industry gets
As for language, i keep reading that ''quebeckers hate speaking english''. What BS. Most of us are bilingual. If more english canadians spoke french that would be a bridge to help canadian unity. Most english canadians ive met knew NOTHING about french canadian culture (because french canada is not limited to Quebec. )
I support freedom period
Sorry but the CAQ is not opposed to our independence, they just don't want to talk about it. Be careful of another ''Révolution tranquille'', this is the way we like to play the game!!!
Canada, more specifically Quebec, is the homeland of my grandparents. It is truly a great country and I see it as a better mix of immigrants living together for the common good than the in USA. I currently live in the state of New Hampshire, USA, just to the south of where my ancestors came from in Quebec. The people here in NH, though with Canadian French origins and language, have become "Americanized" and merged into the general population just in my lifetime. Even the French Canadian language is dying out. It is like the Cajuns from Nova Scotia who were banished to Louisiana. In Louisiana they still have some of their original culture such as Parishes instead of counties, Napoleonic law code, and the French Cajun language. It is the same as here. I believe Canada will develop using some of each culture and language, giving us the best of both worlds. I am proud to be a Canadian descendant. I do not think Canada will ever separate. Canada is my safety go-to when things here in the USA becomes anarchic which seems to be quickly happening these days. "Merci" (thank you) for this synopsis of the Quebecois situation. Mai Ouis!
Uh you do know that your grandparents experienced a lot of discrimination if they were French Canadian growing up? Their generation would have been told to "speak white" and would be the lowest paid ethnic group on average in Québec of all places.
The only reason you have a country is because of the United States citizens. The only reason you have anything is because you have been bumming off of and protected by the United States since WWII. As for Quebec citizens way back, most of them were cowards, too afraid to go fight for thier countries in the wars so they ran to quebec calling Quebec a separate country when it was not just to avoid going to war, and now they act like they have earned that land and that thier better then everyone else.
Do the US and Canada a favor and leave this continent. Sincerly from Ottawa and New York
@@Tokebec_Icitte well the us could crush you and invade u.
And they dont play games, yall would speak english in 2 days 🤣
@@Tokebec_Icitte Well im american, and nobody knows what quebec is
@@NationalismDjazair Speak for you, I have American friends who know very well what Quebec is and where it is located,,,, and it is true that many Americans are of Quebecers descent
i think quebec gets more with the threat of leaving than actually leaving
Thank you for the interesting content. Do you have any content on British-Hong Kong-China history? I like your clear explanations.
Thanks so much. I do indeed. Here is an old video on why it couldn’t be independent and had to be handed back to China:
ruclips.net/video/YBkZwBKBokY/видео.htmlsi=APpZ66Yh6aFCbypv
I also did another more recent one of how China has reneged on its promise to preserve democracy:
ruclips.net/video/0zH2nOQEVDY/видео.htmlsi=52Ov43nikrJQfbaV
Vive la liberté Vive l’indépendance ❤️
As soon as you leave, the Canadian boat anchor will be gone.
@@hugostiglitz2388 can’t wait 🙂
@@sebastiengaudette7915 You are the boat anchor, you and your silly language no one wants.
@@hugostiglitz2388 I know that. The canadian boat is sinking toward the bottom of the ocean.
Newfoundland is technically bankrupt beause of the Muskrat Falls fiasco. They are serious rumors Hydro-Québec buys Hydro-Newfie to prevent a near doubling of electricity rates in NFLD .
The next one. Their situation will get worse after 2025:
Net Debt per Capita , in dollar $
Year *Alberta*
2016-17 2 121
2017-18 4 561
2018-19 6 393
2019-20 9 204
2020-21 Projection 14 134
2021-22 Projection 18 479
2022-23 Projection 20 922
2023-24 Projection 22 411
Source: Fiscal reference tables (Department of Finance Canada).
Most legitimate movement in the world. ✌
The only result is on a double bureaucracy that is too expensive to maintain, save on that bureaucracy to have better education, healthcare, roads, etc.!
Support for Quebec independence is cyclical, it has been going up and down for the last 50 years. Now we're at a low ebb, but don't hold your breath, it can come back with force depending on the context... Quebec public opinion is notoriously volatile, support for the issue can climb to over 50% in a matter of months (remember the "sponsorship scandal" in 2005-6?). So yes, the independence movement is very much alive and Quebec will probably become a sovereign country in the next 20 years.
Federal government has drowned the separatist movement with immigration (that almost always integrates into the english canadian culture)
This demographic drowning also occur under the guidance of the liberal party of Québec with Couillard
But, the federal government did improve itself over the years to better include and represent French speakers. Fecque ... Beaucoup d'immigrants parlent français
@@sammexp va voir les statistiques, tu vas écrire moins de mensonges d’ignorants incultes…voir commission sur les langues officielles du Canada pour les petits colonisés de services aveuglement fédérastes.😁😘
@@robin-bq1lz si ce n'était pas vrai les gens seraient majoritairement indépendantistes ... C'est juste réaliste. T'es juste trop aveuglé par l'idéalogie pour t'en rendre compte
@@sammexp est-ce que tu sais la différence entre la théorie et la pratique?!, si tu le savais, ont auraient certainement pas cette conversation. C’est un peu comme les résultats environnementaux depuis le protocole de Kyoto malgré toutes les promesses fédérales, le Canada est parmi les pires pollueurs par habitant malgré les beaux discours….tout comme le niveau de bilinguisme des anglophones du Canada, un des plus bas au monde. Arrête de te fier à tes impressions et va lire les très nombreux rapports officiels par les Commissaires sur le sujet ou encore le comité permanent du sénat canadien sur les langues officielles…où simplement statistiques Canada, bonne éducation.😘
In May of 2022, a study spanning Québec evaluates support for Sovereignty-Association to roughly 53% and outright independence to 40.5%. Both questions were asked respectively, so this does not equate to 93.5% of the population.
Sorry but have to correct you on one point. Quebec and Ukraine are not comparable in land area size. Quebec is much larger. Quebec in square miles is 644,000. Ukraine is:233,000 sq.miles Quebec is more comparable to the state of Alaska and is even then still larger.