The Impact of the Quebec Factor in the Canada-U.S. Bilateral Relations

The Quiet Revolution, and the unceasing changes that characterize the Québec of the 60’s marked an enormous step forward for Québec studies. From the end of the 60’s, and beginning of the 70’s, a series of research on Québec started to see the light. With the October Crisis of 1970, the emergence of the “Parti Québecois” and the province’s first lost of referendum; hundreds of articles, books, and researches have been written. Québec’s economic relationship with the United States, the quest for Québec’s identity and its place within the Canadian federation, the tensions within Canada, its relations with other Canadian provinces, as well as the whole cultural aspects, i.e. French language, politic, well almost everything has been studied over and over, everything but the implication of Québec, or “The Québec Factor ” in the Canada-U.S. bilateral relations. A few texts have been written about, the sovereignty movement and the Canada-U.S. relations, still not so numerous amounts of data related to the strength of the Québec factor and its role in the Canadian decision-makings toward the U.S. This is where the motive emerges, the fact that this subject has rarely been touched is not only extremely attractive, it is also a once in a lifetime opportunity to contribute considerably not only to Taiwan’s Canadian studies, but also to the field of Québec studies. The main objective of the present thesis will be to demonstrate that the Québec factor influences not only relations with the rest of Canada, but as well, from time to time, Canadian bilateral relations with its southern neighbor: the United States. The extent to which Québec is implicated in the Canadian decision-making toward the United States will be explored. Furthermore, Québec’s distinct cultural background, its cultural insecurity generated by domestic tensions with Canada, and the role played by those tensions in the Québec government’s decision to slightly detach with the rest of Canada and get closer to the United States will be addressed. The study will put its emphasis not on the fact that Quebec is extremely powerful, because it would be a lie, but more on the fact that Quebec, which is only a province, as well can greatly influence Canada and its neighbor. The study will be structured as follow; the second chapter will define what really is the “Quebec factor”, and will emphasize on the definition of Quebec’s potential influence on Canada, as well as its origin i.e. the domestic tensions present in the federation that led to the two referendums for independence. The third chapter will introduce the Canada-U.S. bilateral relation in order to further comprehend the considerable importance of both actors for each other. The fourth chapter will put its focus on the actual economic power of the province, taking as example the signature of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement and the role played by the province in the Canadian decision-making toward this issue, which we will see was much more desired in the U.S. as it was in Canada. Moreover, as well in this chapter, the actual strength of the province’s economy, prior and post CUFTA, will be assessed. The fifth chapter will exhibit the influence of the Quebec public opinion on political issues i.e. the Iraq incursion and the first refusal of Canada to participate to the building of the Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD). Finally, the last chapter will conclude on what really represents the province for the triangular Quebec-Canada-U.S. relation