French Canada more than just one province

There’s a lot more to celebrate on Canada’s 150th birthday than gargantuan rubber ducks. That’s why the National Post asked some of Canada’s most interesting personalities and writers to tell us what they would rather celebrate about Canada on the sesquicentennial — that is, if the government actually gave a duck what they thought.

Canada is known as a bilingual nation, comprised of English and French populations. Too often, though, when Canadians think about French Canadians, they think only of the French- Canadians living in Quebec, while overl ooking the francophone communities that dot the country, from coast to coast.

On Canada’s 150th, we should stop to appreciate that the French- Canadian community — such a central part of Canada’s history — is more united than it has been in recent history; that it has become more a part of the French- Canadian identity than before; and that today’s Quebec government is committed to strengthening ties with French minority populations across Canada. This was not always the case.

In 1 967, hundreds of francophone delegates gathered in Montreal at a meeting known as the “États généraux,” to debate the future of French- Canadians. The Quebec delegation — comprised almost entirely of advocates for Quebec independence — pushed for a position that was nearly irreconcilable with that of the other provinces’ francophone delegates.

This difference of opinion was made clear in the resolution that the delegates ultimately adopted, which a full 98 per cent of the Quebec delegates supported, and a majority of the other provinces’ delegates opposed. The resolution held that French- Canadians constitute a separate nation — with a distinct language, culture, institutions and history — and as such, had the right within Quebec to self- determination, land and a government that represents their own culture. Ontario’s representatives were so opposed to it that they walked out, and would go on to boycott all other États généraux. To translate their words, “this new nationalist project (was) diametrically opposed to their own core identity.”

This 1967 États généraux c ame to s ymbolize t he breaking-off of two opposing national projects: Quebec sovereignty on the one hand, and the unified French- Canadian dream on the other. As a united French- Canadian community became secondary to the aim of Quebec sovereignty throughout the late 20th century, the goal of building ties between francophones within and outside of Quebec fell by the wayside.

In the process, some Quebec nationalists even came to regard non- Quebec francophones as their rivals. As francophones outside of Quebec fought for stronger language rights and other min- ority protections (particularly under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms), Quebec nationalists came to fear their success in these efforts. They did not want Quebec’s anglophone minority to be able to use the courts’ precedents to increase protections for minorities within their province.

For this reason, the Quebec government has, in the past, tended not to support non- Quebec francophones in their proceedings before the courts. It even opposed them in three Supreme Court of Canada cases: Mahé ( 1990), Beaulac ( 1999) and Yukon Francophone School Board (2015).

These anti- francophone efforts are not only ironic; they’re also founded on false logic. As I have shown in my book on this subject, the Supreme Court of Canada does not always apply linguistic rights symmetrically. As it recognized in cases such as Solski ( 2005) and Nguyen (2009), the courts can consider the unique social, demographic and historical factors at play when considering the level of protection to afford to language rights in any given case. As such, Quebec nationalists are wrong to assume that a victory for Francophones outside of Quebec is necessarily a win for Quebec anglophones.

Fortunately, much has changed in recent years. Calls for Quebec sovereignty have diminished considerably. Under the leadership of the federalist Premier Philippe Couillard, Quebec has also sought to strengthen ties with French minorities in other provinces. In November 2014 and January 2016, for instance, it signed accords with Ontario and Manitoba, respectively, which are aimed at strengthening the bonds between these provinces’ francophone communities.

On Canada’s 150th, we can celebrate that the idea of French Canada means something bigger than one province, as it always should have, and that French- Canadians are more unified —both as a minority population and with EnglishCanadians than they have been in a long time.

CALLS FOR QUEBEC SOVEREIGNTY HAVE DIMINISHED.