Friday, December 15, 2006

What if Quebec goes?

Blast Furnace Canada has an interesting post about a recent prank by the Belgian national broadcaster that went awry, and raises the question of what Canada would do if Quebec unilaterally declared independence. Would Ottawa be able to rely on the Quebec divisions of the Army? Would it matter - would a military response be possible/likely/necessary?

In this discussion, I'd simply point out that there's an immense amount of trouble that Quebec could cause as an independent state. The Quebec government has, on occasion, "accidentally" published maps showing the wrong borders with Newfoundland and Labrador. If you assume Quebec nationalism was in full flower (naturally, this would be necessary for a declaration of independence) all of the sudden a certain irredentism among Quebeckers is not out of the question. "Rescuing" the francophone parts of Ontario or New Brunswick would almost certainly be raised as a possibility.

So what's the nightmare scenario? Assume Quebec did leave, how bad could it get?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Worst case?

1) Outright civil war concentrated in Ontario and Quebec.
2)Alberta separates to save its own hide.
3) USA invades under a misguided notion that we would welcome their imposed stability and security. Invasion justified under pretense of search for Alcohols of Mass InEbriation, or AMIE.

Anonymous said...

The Quebec government has, on occasion, "accidentally" published maps showing the wrong borders with Newfoundland and Labrador.

Accidentally? Nothing accidental about it and it's not occasionally either - it's standard practise. Quebec has never recognized the 1927 privy council decision establishing Labrador's borders.

john said...

Huh. I wasn't aware it was a constant thing.