Option Québec
Encyclopedia
An Option for Quebec is an essay
by former Premier of Quebec
René Lévesque
published in 1968. The essay presents the constitutional proposal of a group of progressive liberals who, after leaving the Liberal Party of Quebec, formed the Sovereignty-Association Movement
.
's Liberal Association, the adoption of a resolution he wished to present to the Congress of the Quebec Liberal Federation planned for October 1967. The text he wrote and which was the basis of his speech that day was entitled Un pays qu'il faut faire ("A Country That Must be Made"). That text was to form the first part of An Option for Quebec, published in its French edition a few months later, on January 6, 1968.
On October 14, 1967, René Lévesque
left the Congress of the Quebec Liberal Federation and announced in a press conference held at Clarendon Hotel
that he had quit the Liberal Party of Quebec and was from now on to sit as an independent member in the Parliament of Quebec. He cited as his reason for leaving the fact that his party had refused to even debate his proposal regarding the constitutional future of Quebec.
On November 18 and 19 1967, some 400 militants participated to the founding meeting of the Sovereignty-Association Movement, which was held at the Couvent Saint-Albert-le-Grand on Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine in Montreal
. After a merger with the Ralliement national
led by Gilles Grégoire
, the Sovereignty-Association Movement founded a new provincial political party, the Parti Québécois
, which placed René Lévesque's Sovereignty-Association idea at the heart of its program. René Lévesque was elected leader of this new party on October 14, 1968.
, Jean-Roch Boivin, Marc Brière, Pothier Ferland, Maurice Jobin, René Lévesque
, Monique Marchand, Guy Pelletier and Réginald Savoie. The foreword is followed by a preface by historian Jean Blain.
The substance of the essay consists of three parts and a short conclusion. The book ends with an epilogue by Quebec documentary film director Pierre Perrault
.
. Chapter I ("Belonging") treats of the collective personality of Quebecers. Chapter II (The Acceleration of History) discuses the challenge that modernity
poses to the preservation of the collective personality of the Quebec people and suggests that the only way to dissipate the danger of the assimilation
of its francophone majority is "to face up to this trying and thoughtless age and make it accept us as we are". Chapter III (The Quiet Revolution) discuses the catch up and progress accomplished by the Quebec nation since the Quiet Revolution
. In chapter IV (The Basic Minimums), Lévesque points out the limitations of the centenary Canadian federal framework (1867–1967) if Quebec is to enjoy the basic amount of internal autonomy it needs to continue on the way of progress as it has been doing since 1960. In chapter V (The Blind Alley), Lévesque remarks that the vital minimum for Quebec is a "frightening maximum, completely unacceptable" for English Canada
which needs the central State of Canada "for its own security and progress as much as we need our own State of Quebec". Chapter VI (The Way of the Future) presents the alternative of René Lévesque to what he describes as the blind alley of maintaining or adapting the political status quo
. He invites his readers to reject Canadian federalism entirely and proposes a sovereign Quebec ("complete liberty in Quebec") that would be associated to the rest of Canada as part of a new Canadian Union modelled on the precedents of the European Economic Community
, Scandinavia
or Benelux
.
(From Politics to Economics) treating of the economic organization of the State. The first chapter (The Association) presents the association that Quebec would propose to Canada, that is to say a monetary union and a common market. The monetary union would be carried out on the basis of an accord renewable every five years. The second chapter (The Transition Period) deals with the question of the steps Quebec would have to go through to reach the status of a sovereign State. It discuses the financing of the state and the means of retaining investments in Quebec.
Appendix 1 (Some Varieties of Special Status) cites authors who wrote on the special status which Quebec would in their opinion need to ensure the future of its development and the conservation of its particular collective personality within the framework of a reformed Canadian federalism. The works cited are Equality or Independence by Daniel Johnson, Sr. (published in 1965), Le Québec dans le Canada de demain (published in 1967) and comprising texts by Marcel Faribault
, Jean-Guy Cardinal
and Claude Ryan
, as well as an excerpt of the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the Quebec Liberal Federation presided by Paul Gérin-Lajoie
and prepared for the Congress of October 1967.
Appendix 2 (Neo-Centralization) contains the point of view of senator Maurice Lamontagne
, who, in two articles published in Le Devoir
on September 23 and 25, 1967, rejected the special status thesis of Claude Ryan
and proposed a "cooperative federalism" in which René Lévesque saw nothing but a way to re-centralize powers in Ottawa
.
Appendix 3 (Québec-Canada: A Blind Alley) reproduces a talk given by economist and former Premier of Quebec Jacques Parizeau
in Banff
, Alberta
, on October 17, 1967.
Appendix 4 (The Snare of Biculturalism) gives the statistics available at the time concerning the assimilation of out-of-Quebec francophone minorities and argues that it is not possible to reanimate the cultural life of these minority groups simply by offering them the status the Anglophone "minority" of Quebec enjoys, as proposed by the report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism
. The report, in addition, does not propose an answer to the question of the integration of immigrants to Quebec society. The appendix reproduces a text by René Lévesque dated December 3, 1967 and an excerpt of an essay by Richard Arès
published in the November issue of the Relations review.
Appendix 5 (Association of Sovereign States) is a dossier on the functioning of the European Union
and Scandinavia
. The appendix includes an excerpt of the Treaty of Rome
of March 25, 1957 which is at the origin of the Common Market of Europe.
Appendix 6 (Other Testimony) reprints two texts: Sovereignty, Condition of Salvation by Jean-Marc Léger, initially published in Le Devoir on October 23, 24 and 25, 1967, and Quebec's Independence: Condition of Quebec's Salvation, Guarantee of Peace for Canada by Doris Lussier
, excerpted from an interview he gave to Échos-Vedettes on November 11, 1967.
Appendix 7 (Operation Panic) analyzes the flight of capital from Quebec which made the news soon after October 18, 1967, which is to say just after René Lévesque released the manifesto that forms the first part of An Option for Quebec.
In English translation, the book was published by McClelland & Stewart in 1968 and again in 1977, after the election of the Parti Québécois
.
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
by former Premier of Quebec
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
published in 1968. The essay presents the constitutional proposal of a group of progressive liberals who, after leaving the Liberal Party of Quebec, formed the Sovereignty-Association Movement
Mouvement Souveraineté-Association
The Mouvement Souveraineté-Association was formed on November 19, 1967 by René Lévesque to promote the concept of sovereignty-association between Quebec and the rest of Canada....
.
Context
On September 18, 1967, René Lévesque proposed to the members of the Laurier ridingLaurier (provincial electoral district)
Laurier was a provincial electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada. Located in the Montreal region, it formed in 1966 from parts of Montreal-Laurier. In 1994, it became part of the new riding of Laurier-Dorion following a merger with the defunct riding of Dorion...
's Liberal Association, the adoption of a resolution he wished to present to the Congress of the Quebec Liberal Federation planned for October 1967. The text he wrote and which was the basis of his speech that day was entitled Un pays qu'il faut faire ("A Country That Must be Made"). That text was to form the first part of An Option for Quebec, published in its French edition a few months later, on January 6, 1968.
On October 14, 1967, René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
left the Congress of the Quebec Liberal Federation and announced in a press conference held at Clarendon Hotel
Clarendon Hotel
The Clarendon Hotel, or Clarendon House , is a high-end hotel in the historic part of Quebec City. It is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the city....
that he had quit the Liberal Party of Quebec and was from now on to sit as an independent member in the Parliament of Quebec. He cited as his reason for leaving the fact that his party had refused to even debate his proposal regarding the constitutional future of Quebec.
On November 18 and 19 1967, some 400 militants participated to the founding meeting of the Sovereignty-Association Movement, which was held at the Couvent Saint-Albert-le-Grand on Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. After a merger with the Ralliement national
Ralliement national
Ralliement national was a political party that advocated the political independence of Quebec from Canada in the 1960s.It was led by former créditiste Gilles Grégoire...
led by Gilles Grégoire
Gilles Grégoire
Gilles Grégoire was a co-founder of the Parti Québécois.Born in Quebec City, the son of Joseph-Ernest Grégoire, he was elected in 1962 to the House of Commons with the Ralliement des créditistes...
, the Sovereignty-Association Movement founded a new provincial political party, the Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
, which placed René Lévesque's Sovereignty-Association idea at the heart of its program. René Lévesque was elected leader of this new party on October 14, 1968.
Summary
The essay opens with a foreword entitled The Moment of Choice signed by Roch Banville, Rosaire Beaule, Gérard BélangerGérard Bélanger
Gérard Bélanger is a Canadian economics professor. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Université de Montréal, a Bachelor of Science and a master's degree in Social sciences from the Université Laval, as well as a master's degree from Princeton University...
, Jean-Roch Boivin, Marc Brière, Pothier Ferland, Maurice Jobin, René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
, Monique Marchand, Guy Pelletier and Réginald Savoie. The foreword is followed by a preface by historian Jean Blain.
The substance of the essay consists of three parts and a short conclusion. The book ends with an epilogue by Quebec documentary film director Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault was a Québécois documentary film director. He directed 20 films between 1963 and 1996. He was one of the most important filmmakers in Canada although largely unknown outside of Québec...
.
Part one
The first part (17 pages), is entitled A Country That Must be Made and contains six small chapters advancing the reasons for Quebecers to make the double choice of independence for Quebec and a new economic union with CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Chapter I ("Belonging") treats of the collective personality of Quebecers. Chapter II (The Acceleration of History) discuses the challenge that modernity
Modernity
Modernity typically refers to a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period, one marked by the move from feudalism toward capitalism, industrialization, secularization, rationalization, the nation-state and its constituent institutions and forms of surveillance...
poses to the preservation of the collective personality of the Quebec people and suggests that the only way to dissipate the danger of the assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
of its francophone majority is "to face up to this trying and thoughtless age and make it accept us as we are". Chapter III (The Quiet Revolution) discuses the catch up and progress accomplished by the Quebec nation since the Quiet Revolution
Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution was the 1960s period of intense change in Quebec, Canada, characterized by the rapid and effective secularization of society, the creation of a welfare state and a re-alignment of politics into federalist and separatist factions...
. In chapter IV (The Basic Minimums), Lévesque points out the limitations of the centenary Canadian federal framework (1867–1967) if Quebec is to enjoy the basic amount of internal autonomy it needs to continue on the way of progress as it has been doing since 1960. In chapter V (The Blind Alley), Lévesque remarks that the vital minimum for Quebec is a "frightening maximum, completely unacceptable" for English Canada
English Canada
English Canada is a term used to describe one of the following:# English-speaking Canadians, as opposed to French-speaking Canadians. It is employed when comparing English- and French-language literature, media, or art...
which needs the central State of Canada "for its own security and progress as much as we need our own State of Quebec". Chapter VI (The Way of the Future) presents the alternative of René Lévesque to what he describes as the blind alley of maintaining or adapting the political status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
. He invites his readers to reject Canadian federalism entirely and proposes a sovereign Quebec ("complete liberty in Quebec") that would be associated to the rest of Canada as part of a new Canadian Union modelled on the precedents of the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
or Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
.
Part two
The second part (25 pages), entitled A Country that Is "Feasible", is made of two chapters describing the "Option for Quebec" in more details. This part is introduced by a short text of Bernard ChenotBernard Chenot
Bernard Chenot was a French politician and senior official.-Life:Bernard Chenot was the son of a Parisian barrister. He became a member of the Conseil d'Etat during the Third Republic, and worked in several government departments. He remained in his position under the Vichy government after 1940...
(From Politics to Economics) treating of the economic organization of the State. The first chapter (The Association) presents the association that Quebec would propose to Canada, that is to say a monetary union and a common market. The monetary union would be carried out on the basis of an accord renewable every five years. The second chapter (The Transition Period) deals with the question of the steps Quebec would have to go through to reach the status of a sovereign State. It discuses the financing of the state and the means of retaining investments in Quebec.
Part three
The third part (68 pages) consists of seven appendices which serve as documentation of the first two parts of the essay.Appendix 1 (Some Varieties of Special Status) cites authors who wrote on the special status which Quebec would in their opinion need to ensure the future of its development and the conservation of its particular collective personality within the framework of a reformed Canadian federalism. The works cited are Equality or Independence by Daniel Johnson, Sr. (published in 1965), Le Québec dans le Canada de demain (published in 1967) and comprising texts by Marcel Faribault
Marcel Faribault
Marcel Faribault, was a Canadian notary, businessman and administrator.-Background:Born in Montreal, he was the son of René Faribault and Anna Pauzé and was educated at the Université de Montréal...
, Jean-Guy Cardinal
Jean-Guy Cardinal
Jean-Guy Cardinal was a nationalist politician in Quebec, Canada.-Union Nationale:Cardinal was a supporter of the Union Nationale. He was appointed to the Legislative Council of Quebec and to Daniel Johnson, Sr.'s Cabinet in 1967 and became Minister of Education.Less than a year later, Premier...
and Claude Ryan
Claude Ryan
Claude Ryan, was a Canadian politician and leader of the Parti libéral du Québec from 1978 to 1982. He was also the National Assembly of Quebec member for Argenteuil from 1979 to 1994.-Early life and career:...
, as well as an excerpt of the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the Quebec Liberal Federation presided by Paul Gérin-Lajoie
Paul Gérin-Lajoie
Paul Gérin-Lajoie, is a Canadian lawyer, philanthropist, and a former member of the National Assembly of Quebec and Cabinet Minister....
and prepared for the Congress of October 1967.
Appendix 2 (Neo-Centralization) contains the point of view of senator Maurice Lamontagne
Maurice Lamontagne
Maurice Lamontagne, was a Canadian economist and politician.Born in Mont-Joli, Quebec, he graduated from Université Laval with a master's degree in social science and Harvard University with a master's in economics. He was a professor of economics at Université Laval...
, who, in two articles published in Le Devoir
Le Devoir
Le Devoir is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and the rest of Canada. It was founded by journalist, politician, and nationalist Henri Bourassa in 1910....
on September 23 and 25, 1967, rejected the special status thesis of Claude Ryan
Claude Ryan
Claude Ryan, was a Canadian politician and leader of the Parti libéral du Québec from 1978 to 1982. He was also the National Assembly of Quebec member for Argenteuil from 1979 to 1994.-Early life and career:...
and proposed a "cooperative federalism" in which René Lévesque saw nothing but a way to re-centralize powers in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
.
Appendix 3 (Québec-Canada: A Blind Alley) reproduces a talk given by economist and former Premier of Quebec Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau, is an economist and noted Quebec sovereignist who was the 26th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from September 26, 1994 to January 29, 1996.-Early life and career:...
in Banff
Banff, Alberta
Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, on October 17, 1967.
Appendix 4 (The Snare of Biculturalism) gives the statistics available at the time concerning the assimilation of out-of-Quebec francophone minorities and argues that it is not possible to reanimate the cultural life of these minority groups simply by offering them the status the Anglophone "minority" of Quebec enjoys, as proposed by the report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism
Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism
The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism was a Canadian royal commission established on 19 July 1963, by the government of Prime Minister Lester B...
. The report, in addition, does not propose an answer to the question of the integration of immigrants to Quebec society. The appendix reproduces a text by René Lévesque dated December 3, 1967 and an excerpt of an essay by Richard Arès
Richard Arès
Richard Arès, was a French Canadian humanist and writer.Born in Marieville, Quebec, the son of Georges Arès and Dorila Théberge, he was ordained a Jesuit Priest in 1944...
published in the November issue of the Relations review.
Appendix 5 (Association of Sovereign States) is a dossier on the functioning of the European Union
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. The appendix includes an excerpt of the Treaty of Rome
Treaty of Rome
The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, was an international agreement that led to the founding of the European Economic Community on 1 January 1958. It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany...
of March 25, 1957 which is at the origin of the Common Market of Europe.
Appendix 6 (Other Testimony) reprints two texts: Sovereignty, Condition of Salvation by Jean-Marc Léger, initially published in Le Devoir on October 23, 24 and 25, 1967, and Quebec's Independence: Condition of Quebec's Salvation, Guarantee of Peace for Canada by Doris Lussier
Doris Lussier
Doris Lussier was a comedian and actor, political scientist and activist. He was for many years the personal secretary of Georges-Henri Lévesque, but became famous as a comedian with the character of Père Gédéon, which was later included in the Les Plouffes television series...
, excerpted from an interview he gave to Échos-Vedettes on November 11, 1967.
Appendix 7 (Operation Panic) analyzes the flight of capital from Quebec which made the news soon after October 18, 1967, which is to say just after René Lévesque released the manifesto that forms the first part of An Option for Quebec.
Reception
More than 50,000 copies of Option Québec, the French-language original, were sold in the weeks after its release. Even before its publication, the Liberal Party of Quebec gave a flat refusal to the constitutional option promoted by René Lévesque in his essay. The party instead resolved on a special status for Quebec in a reformed Canadian federation, as recommended in Paul Gérin-Lajoie's October 1967 report. The Union Nationale, as well as the main federal political parties of Canada equally opposed it.Editions
The first French-language edition was published in 1968 at Éditions de l'Homme in Montreal and Laffont in Paris. The work was reprinted in Montreal in 1988, preceded by an essay of political scientist André Bernard entitled Option Québec 1968-1988. Another edition was published in 1997 by TYPO, preceded by an updated version of André Bernard's essay.In English translation, the book was published by McClelland & Stewart in 1968 and again in 1977, after the election of the Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
.