The nation of Québec has been an established nation of the Americas for more than 470 years. It is the principal home for francophones on the continent. Before, and particularly since the birth of the Canadian confederation in 1867, Québec has affirmed its personality and historical rights, proudly and firmly asserting its identity as a minority people.

It has been 138 years since the people of Québec officially entered Canada. Québecers have always affirmed a fierce will to live in a world where their differences, their language, their culture, and their own institutions distinguish them from the rest of the country.

The year 2005 will allow Québecers to remember, among other things, the ongoing struggles of a francophone population trying to survive on an English-speaking continent. The coming year marks the 25th anniversary of Québec’s first referendum on secession from Canada in 1980, as well as the tenth anniversary of the 1995 referendum—two events aimed at allowing Québecers to decide the course of their political future, at home and abroad.

Québecers have twice asked the democratic question of whether or not it is preferable for Québec to become an independent, sovereign country, and the sole master of its political and economic destiny, along with all matters involved in such a decision. On both of these historic occasions, a majority of Québecers chose to stay in Canada. On May 20, 1980, the “No” side rallied 60 percent support against breaking from Canada. On October 30, 1995, the result was 51 percent against independence to 49 percent in favor of independence, with a narrow margin of 54,288 votes between the two sides.

This virtual tie should have been a cause for reflection among federal government representatives who, though visibly shaken by the outcome, refused to modify their approach concerning Québec, instead choosing to continue pursuing a policy of economic and political intervention in provincial affairs.

But the historic claims of Québecers are not unreasonable, nor are they incongruous. They affirm the undeniable realities that led to the recognition of claims by the Catalans of Spain and the Scottish inside the United Kingdom. Like Catalonia and Scotland, Québec deserves its right to be different.

In the context of diversity, while affirming a unique cultural, social, and political identity, and establishing the desire of Québecers to remain associated with Canada, ADQ (l’Action Démocratique du Québec) was born in 1994 to undertake the fight for recognition of Québec’s autonomy in an authentic confederation.

Québecers have officially and historically demonstrated on two occasions, both in 1980 and 1995, their choice for a decentralized Canadian confederation respecting the spirit and the letter of the Canadian constitution, most notably in matters regarding the jurisdiction of all levels of government. On these two occasions, Québecers have indicated their frustration with the federal government’s encroachment upon Québec’s constitutional rights while also claiming Québec’s fair share of federal funds based on its share of the population and its jurisdictional autonomy.

For the ADQ, it is not pertinent to call for more referenda. Rather than hope for a “yes” answer to a question to which Québecers have already answered “no” twice, or worse yet, to receive a third “no” vote, thus further weakening Québec, it is time to examine new approaches to the advancement of Québec’s autonomy.

The Autonomous Way

The ADQ suggests that the reinforcement of Québec’s autonomy will come about through significant political actions that enable the development of a Québec identity, both within provincial society and beyond its borders. To this end, we propose to endow Québec with a constitution that embodies the values and principles that define it. One fundamental gesture that will express the attachment of Québecers to the autonomy of Québec is the designation of the province as “the autonomous state of Québec.”

For the ADQ, the proliferation of our identity will come about equally through the affirmation of our sovereign rights through international representation in our particular areas of expertise. Québec will be shaped by the willingness of Québecers to undertake this initiative and to cultivate the political, economic, cultural, and social powers that are needed to develop as a people. The autonomist voice advocates a Québec that asserts itself at the forefront of all sectors of activity that are judged to be indispensable to its development.

Québecers are, for example, the only taxpayers in Canada who are obliged to fill out two income tax reports and then to pay both levels of government. This duplication carries an estimated cost of between US$300 million to US$500 million per year. In conforming to our values of fiscal responsibility, autonomy, and the simplification of our fiscal structures, the ADQ proposes that Québecers submit only a single income tax report and that the Québec government transfers a fair share to the federal government.

Québec’s autonomy, within an authentic Canadian confederation, must be accompanied by an effective and real freedom to express itself throughout the world. There is no doubt that free trade treaties (e.g. the US-Canada Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement) provide new forums where an autonomous Québec, strong in character, culture, and language, must be an active participant at the same table as representatives from Canada. In 1988, it was Québec and Alberta who strongly upheld the Canadian-American Free Trade Agreement and also brought about its adoption through the vote of their respective members of parliament.

Since 1964, successive Québec governments have unilaterally exercised their autonomy on the international stage. They have effectively ratified more than 550 agreements with governments representing 79 different countries and numerous federated states.

The ADQ believes that in the context of globalization and the liberalization of economic exchange, all states and intervening parties who have the power to trade must not only have elbow room, but also their own voice.

The autonomous state proposed by the ADQ is a return to the legitimate and concrete aspirations of a distinct population. It is the best way to heal Québec and its repeated identity crises, as well as to end the cyclical reappearance of questions over Québec’s place within a federal political system. Over the course of the last 50 years, the testimony of the most eminent Québecers from all walks of political life gives credibility to the efforts of a population asserting its distinctiveness. The conviction and fervor of autonomists has not diminished in force, and we cannot deny that the nationalism they continue to extol is non-partisan.