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The Economy and Support for Quebec Sovereignty

Introduction

There are a variety of peer review journal articles that address different reasons why there is support for sovereignty in Quebec. Of these, most elaborate on cultural and lingual differences between Quebec and the rest of Canada. However, many of these articles make mention of economic factors that may play a secondary, but important role, in the Quebecois’ decision making process when it comes to choosing whether or not to choose sovereignty. Although no claim has been made that high unemployment and inflation are the primary factors in Quebec’s quest for independence, it is the purpose of this paper to find out how much of an impact they have. By comparing the rates of unemployment and inflation to the popular vote percentages of political parties that support sovereignty for Quebec, one may get a better idea of the impact economic factors have on the sovereignty support in Quebec.

Economic Issues or Enthusiasm for Sovereignty

There are varying opinions on whether or not unemployment and inflation have had any impact at all on the good fortunes of political parties that support sovereignty in Quebec since 1970. Some claim that the economic factors play a small role in sovereignty support in Quebec. For example, Paul Howe in his article “Rationality and Sovereignty Support in Quebec” uses data from a survey of French speaking residents of Quebec to gauge their rationality in their opinions on sovereignty in Quebec. By using this information, Howe makes the claim that it is the people’s enthusiasm for sovereignty that leads them to believe that the economic conditions in Quebec will improve if it was an independent country.

Unemployment and Economic Inequality

There are also some articles that show that unemployment, in particular, leads to the feeling of income inequality throughout Quebec. Galen J. Countryman’s article “The Effect of Unemployment Insurance Benefits on Income Inequality in the Canadian Provinces” shows that Quebec had higher unemployment rates than the Canadian average in 1989, 1992, and, 1996. These years are significant because they coincided with the years that Canada tried to negotiate a new agreement with Quebec that would keep it from leaving the confederation. With unemployment rates above nine percent each year, Quebec’s economy was lagging behind the rest of Canada. The negotiations failed in 1992 and Quebec’s sovereignty referendum in 1995 came within one percent of succeeding. This turbulent time period in which Quebec almost separated with Canada was one which Quebec was experiencing high unemployment.