Separatist sentiments in Canada
A fresh poll showed which provinces in Canada feel more like a "separate nation" than others.
Each year Canada's leading research institutions conduct a series of surveys called "Confederacy for Tomorrow" to find out what Canadians think about federal and provincial government policies. This year, researchers gathered data on which provincial residents think their provincial government should do more to strengthen an identity separate from the rest of the country.
If we take a national average, only one in five Canadians thinks their province should make an effort to develop a separate identity. In only two provinces does one in three feel that more needs to be done than is currently being done to preserve the identity of the local culture. This is the opinion of 37% of French-speaking residents of Quebec (and only 33% of all Quebecers) and 36% of residents of New Brunswick. Thirty years ago, more than 60% of Quebecers thought so.
In all provinces, most respondents said that all was well and that no additional measures were needed. In Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec, despite the separatist statements of individual politicians, the percentage of residents who believe that the province should do less to strengthen its identity was the highest: 29% of Alberta residents, 20% of Saskatchewan residents and 19% of Quebecers think so.
Interestingly, for some reason the researchers did not ask this question of the residents of Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. Probably because of the difference between the status of provinces and territories: the latter have no sovereignty, while in the provinces many issues are handled by a local elected government, in the territories the administration is appointed by the federal government.
But residents of the territories took part in another survey from the same group of researchers. Canadians were asked whether they agreed with the statement that their province/territory had a particular culture that was not understood in other parts of the country. They agreed with this:
- 63% of Nunavut residents;
- 51% of residents of the Northwest Territories;
- 47% of Yukon residents;
- 43% of Newfoundland and Labrador residents;
- 38% of Quebecers (and 41% of Quebec Francophones);
- 24% of New Brunswick residents;
- 24% of the residents of Prince Edward Island.
In the other provinces, the percentage of residents who firmly believe that they have a special culture is below 20. The smallest is in Ontario, where only 10% of respondents agreed with this statement.
