Photo courtesy of Macleans.ca
The re-election of Premier François Legault in Canada highlights the growing desire for nationalism amongst voters in Quebec. Legault has taken a nationalist stance on behalf of the French-speaking Québécois majority, a population that has felt economically and politically oppressed by an English-speaking minority.
Though Legault started as a member of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic political party that seeks Quebec’s secession from Canada, he eventually founded his own party, the Coalition Avenir Québec, to perpetuate an identity-based nationalist agenda and pro-business policies.
Legault’s nationalism aims to emphasize the traditional French influence in Quebec through a mandated set of policies regarding language, religion, and culture. For instance, Legault has adjusted Quebec’s immigration policy in order to limit foreign influence on Quebec. Though immigration is not a significant political issue in the rest of Canada, the influx of immigrants arriving in Quebec has slowly chipped away at the homogeneity of French culture in Quebec, specifically on the French Québécois’s linguistic and Roman Catholic heritage.
Legault took a notably aggressive stance during his campaign, asserting that immigration was “suicidal” for Quebec’s French identity due to the naturally violent and extremist nature of immigrants. As a result, Legault and his followers continue to push for the autonomous representation of the French Québécois with the purpose of re-establishing the homogenous identity of Quebec’s French culture and traditions. Legault denies claims about underlying racism in his policies.
The concept of nationalism has traditionally referred to the celebration of the traits that define a particular nation. Nationalism encourages residents of a particular nation to ensure that the state acts in accordance with its core beliefs. It should be noted that nationalism is very distinct from national pride and patriotism.
For instance, Legault’s nationalism calls for the conservation of French cultures in Quebec by rejecting foreign ethnicities, religions, and traditions. Legault believes that actions such as serving the French Québécois majority or maintaining the historical significance of French traditions are in the best interest of Quebec.
All nations and their residents have different qualities such as language, ethnicities, cultures, or religious beliefs; as such, all nations have their own distinct sense of nationalism because they each celebrate different things. For instance, modern American nationalism clashes with Legault’s nationalism. The United States of America is one of the most politically, ethnically, economically, and religiously diverse nations in the world. Thus, the nation does not have distinct qualities that its people can celebrate. Instead, many American nationalists celebrate the supposed superiority of core American beliefs, such as democracy. In other words, American nationalism is grounded in America’s founding principles such as natural law, liberty and freedom, limited government presence, democratic sovereignty, and foreign acceptance.
Differences in nationalism lead to different methods of conserving and celebrating the traits of a nation. On one hand, Legault exhibits nationalism by restricting foreign influence to prevent the disfigurement of traditional French beliefs. On the other hand, the United States demonstrates nationalism by celebrating diversity, founding new policies to help represent its diverse group of citizens, and offering the willingness to address the sins of our predecessors.
Despite these differences, both American and Canadian nationalism are valid forms of the phenomena. In a nation without nationalists, the people who celebrate the unique qualities of race, ethnicity, religion, and core beliefs risk losing authoritative direction, which could lead to the nation’s downfall.
