Dividing the House: Planning for a Canada Without Quebec

Penny E. Bryden teaches history at Mount Allison University in New
Brunswick.

Freeman and Grady offer a thoughtful and objective answer to the dreaded
question “How will we go about facilitating the departure of Quebec
from Confederation when the separatists finally win the day?”
According to the authors, the widespread refusal among English Canadians
to face even the possibility of a redefined nation will make a mutually
acceptable round of separation negotiations impossible. English Canada
must begin to formulate its position, and Dividing the House goes a long
way toward helping Canadians understand the issues that will be at
stake.

There will be a variety of issues on the agenda: who will speak for
Canada; what territory Quebec can command given the existence of Native
land claims and English ethnic enclaves within the current province of
Quebec; how the assets and debts will be divided; and how citizenship
will be determined. Freeman and Grady argue that Canada should
capitalize on the relative position of strength it will have at the
bargaining table by ensuring that there is a reasonable calculation of
financial responsibility, preferably based on Quebec’s percentage of
the population rather than on its portion of the GDP; that trade
agreements with Quebec are negotiated under the auspices of NAFTA, not
bilaterally; and that the number of Quebeckers who retain joint
citizenship is limited.

The authors’ proposals make sense. While no one can argue that the
separation of Quebec will be simple—the division of the debts and
assets of the United Province of Canada into Ontario and Quebec
following Confederation was not completed until well into the 20th
century, and any new realignment will only be more complex—this book
leaves one with the sense that, after the tears are dried, there might
still be a viable country called Canada.