If Quebec left...

Just an interesting hypothetical for discussion here:

If the Province of Quebec successfully succeeded from the Canadian confederation (and it is fully possible, there has been 2 referendums, and it could happen again), what would you want your province to do?

-> I would want my province to continue to stay within the Canadian confederation (a confederation without Quebec)

-> I would want my province to succeed and become individually independent.

-> I would want my province to succeed with 1 or more other geographically connected provinces.

-> I would want my province to apply to join the U.S. confederation as a state.

-> I would want my province to apply to join the U.S. confederation as a territory (similar to U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, etc.)

wow I screwed up that poll

If my province is Quebec how could I respond to your query? As a Canadian that Would retain his Canadian citizenship in this new strange nation, I would hope to still have a point of view.

I do hope this is not your desired hope to have a Canada without Quebec. This country would be weaker for the loss. It would make it very difficult on those provinces that remained.

without Quebec there is no Canada... same as without any other province..
this is unthinkable.... I am a Canadian and a proud Quebecer who becomes enraged when this subject is brought up... Vive le Canada... Vive le Quebec..

Canada would survive without Quebec. Quebec would survive without Canada. Both would undeniably suffer from a Quebec secession in the short term, and probably the medium term... but the long term? Hard to tell. It depends a lot on your point of view : is Quebec dead weight that drains ressources off Canada? If so, Quebec would suffer in the long run, and Canada would benefit. Is Quebec a province that, while it benefits from equalization payments, brings more to Canada than it takes, all while benefitting from the confederation more than suffering from it? Then both would lose. Is Quebec a potential country that needs complete self-control to achieve its full potential, all while "only" fueling Canada right now? Then Quebec would benefit, and Canada would lose.

And then there's also one last thing I don't consider possible : Quebec would need to administer itself, and Canada would need Quebec to administer itself, so everyone would benefit from it in the long run...

In all cases, Canada would survive without Quebec, whether in worse, better or relatively similar shape as before. Don't think any other province would really have to secede after a potential Quebec separation, though separatist tendencies across the country would certainly be exacerbated by such an event.

Voted : 3 | Total Votes : 0

Poll fails at Math

If Quebec wasn't around to soak up billions of dollars worth of equalization payments, then Alberta's net contribution to Ottawa could actually be distributed to the provinces that would use it as a hand up instead of a hand out.

As an Albertan, I'd truly be proud and willing to build a better Canada with our new found cash flow. I think we need to invest more into the economies of the maritime provinces.

I would hope that Canada would go on but I hope it never comes to that. Despite the pain in the but Quebec can be some times I am very proud to have them as part of Canada and I think Quebec is part of what defines Canada as a nation.

Oh and I definately would not want to see Alberta seperate and either go it alone or worse yet become part of America.

Alberta has, on a per capita basis, been Ottawa's largest single contributor. For example, between 1961 and 1992, Alberta paid $139 billion more to Ottawa than it received back from Ottawa. That is what it cost Albertans to be Canadian.

And where did the money go? During that time frame, the province of Quebec, despite its large population and vibrant economy, was a net recipient of over $ 168 billion from Ottawa. Alberta was paying Quebec to be Canadian.

Source: Dr. Robert Mansell and Ronald Schlenker, "The Provincial Distribution of Federal Fiscal Balances," Canadian Business Economics 3:2 (Winter, 1995), 3-21