I already hear my friends saying I should stick to marketing instead of talking politics. The thing is, the independence of Quebec, from my perspective, is (now) more of a cultural debate than a political one. In that sense, it is loosely knitted with my main domain of interest. I know most would agree.

When we’re talking about Quebec independence, our thoughts usually goes toward the dichotomy that exists between Quebec and the ROC (rest of Canada). I am persuaded that this debate is over, a conflict of the past. Not that this dichotomy isn’t present anymore.

Parizeau (the then leader of the Parti Québecois) blamed his party defeat after the 1995 referendum on money and the ethnic votes. I am particularly interested in the last part of this statement. I think he couldn’t have been more right, but not exactly how he meant it.

The typical Quebecer for independence will state that we need our own country because we’re culturally different from the rest of the country (we speak french, have a different cultural background and so on). The typical Quebecer is a white francophone, while the ROC, well, isn’t. I’ll argue with this frame of reference in mind.

The question of independence is over. Of course, you’ll still find (a lot) of Quebecers arguing for it. But they lost their momentum. And here’s what I am bringing to the table for discussion: there is no point anymore for the independence of Quebec, because Quebecers are not what they used to be. Our weak birth rate and strong immigration is leading to a change in demographics. No longer will the typical Quebecer be a white francophone. And while he may be white and he may be francophone, his contact with other culture made him realize, well, that he doesn’t need to be that separated from the ROC anymore. Through the growing multiculturalism in our own province, we came to accept the other. And if we accepted him, there’s no need to seek a separation.

And here comes the great Quebec divide: the question of Quebec independence isn’t with the ROC anymore, it’s within our own province. Those who are fighting for a culturally independent province/country are fighting a lost battle, as our province is becoming more and more culturally diverse. This divide, which some might credit to a city/suburb or (worse?) Montreal/rest of the province divide is what our province will have to deal with in the coming years. We’re seeing a separation within our own culture, and if the question of independence is rising again, we’ll have to stop luring ourselves and start talking about what we’re looking for in a 21st Quebec.

P.S. I had a good talk with my most politically connoisseur friend and he made interesting points I wanted to raise here: the independence in ’95 was not only a cultural debate, there was strong political stakes, which I am not considering in this essay; evolving in a multi-cultural environment does not necessarily lead you to a less independence-inclined political perspective (I respectfully disagree); and I am –not- saying independentist are ethno-centric racist!