Provincial and Territorial Politics in Canada and Beyond

J12(b) - Identity Politics in Quebec and Beyond

Date: May 31 | Time: 02:00pm to 03:30pm | Location: Classroom - CL 316 Room ID:15727

Chair/Président/Présidente : Benjamin Ferland (University of Ottawa)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Benjamin Ferland (University of Ottawa)

To What Extent Were the Two Independence Referenda in Scotland and Quebec Focused on Policy Versus Identity?: Sabrina Sotiriu (University of Ottawa)
Abstract: One area of comparison between independence referenda in nationalist literature has been their focus on policy matters versus issues of identity. With the recent 2014 Scottish referendum having unfolded, the literature has concentrated on comparing several of its aspects with previous attempts at democratic separations (whether on framework, rhetoric etc). I will specifically employ discursive institutionalism to look at the two referenda (Scotland 2014 and Quebec 1995) and compare them on this continuum of policy versus identity. I will use policy documents from both sides in each referendum, as well as interviews and speeches given by the major actors in both cases, and through textual analysis extract their similarities and differences. The common thread in choosing these two variables (policies versus identities) and two cases is that both exemplified multiple elements of uncertainty which ultimately led the risk adverse voters in both cases to refuse “going at it alone”. A close review of the referenda literature shows more single case studies research than expected, or very macro/general studies regarding their frequency and rates of success. I expect some cross-over (specifically regarding international issues, financial burdens, defense capabilities, and social affairs). On the identity front I predict a discursive battle of competing nationalisms, more reactive in Quebec/English Canada than Scotland/England. Overall, my conclusions will reveal that in the 2014 Scottish referendum, the focus lied more on policy differences over identity, while in the 1995 Quebec referendum, the issues were more evenly split between confusions in policies promoted, and identity politics played.

Cultural Threats and Local Contexts: An Exploration of Territorial Variations in Quebec: Luc Turgeon (University of Ottawa)
Abstract: Feelings of threat to national identity and culture have been shown to play a key role in structuring attitudes toward immigrants and immigration (Sniderman et al., 2004; Sides and Citrin, 2007). Hopkins et al. (2014) have recently called students of cultural threat to explore what specific aspects of immigrants’ cultures or identities are likely to produce feelings of threat. As for Newman et al. (2012), they invite researchers not only to explore threats to national culture and identity but also individual feelings of threat, especially as it relates to interpersonal exchange and communication. While local contexts play a key role in shaping the nature of the feelings of threat in those two studies, they are largely operationalized through a measure of local contact with immigrants. In our study, we build on insights from the work of Hopkins et al. (2014) as well as Newman et al. (2012), but push their reflection on local contexts further by comparing how residents of urban, suburban and rural areas frame feelings of threat. As such, while in previous research we showed that the intensity of feelings of threat varied across those forms of territories in Quebec (Bilodeau and Turgeon, 2014), in this research we explore whether the way they frame such feelings of threat also vary. We draw on six focus groups conducted in three regions of Quebec in the fall of 2017.

By-Elections in Quebec: Signs of Discord, Dissatisfaction, or Simple Dialogue?: Alexandre Rivard (University of British Columia), Jocelyn McGrandle (Concordia University)
Abstract: By-elections are a regular aspect of Canadian politics but have been subject to a relatively scarce amount of study. Loewen and Bastien (2010) undertook the most comprehensive test of federal by-elections but little work has been done on by-elections within individual provinces, aside from that of Massicotte (1981), who demonstrated that the governing party in Quebec largely won every contested by-election throughout the twentieth century. His study, while influential, stopped in 1981. With the election of the Parti Québécois in 1976 serving as a critical juncture, we find that that opposition parties won a clear majority of by-elections in almost every single parliamentary sitting from 1976 onward. The question, then, is why? More specifically, what factors most impact by-elections in Quebec today? Previous theories postulate that by-elections can serve as a referendum on the current government, or as a barometer for future elections, but neither of these theories seems to hold in Quebec post-1976. As noted by Loewen and Bastien (2010), by-elections in Canadian politics are considered significant events, as their outcomes are not simply idiosyncratic or exclusive to a particular riding. Based on this argument, it appears that by-elections in Quebec may also be significant events in Quebec politics, and that parties may have lessons to learn from previous elections. Similar to Loewen and Bastien (2010), this will use a combination of public opinion polls to test the referendum theory as well as electoral data like voter turnout, vote totals, and reason for by-election to test the predictors of by-elections.