At the time this essay went to press, Quebecers were already in the throes of an unusually volatile election. Although the Parti Québécois appeared poised to suffer a significant setback on March 26, its commitment to holding a “public consultation” (read: referendum) on sovereignty had become a major campaign issue. Whether Jean Charest’s Liberals or even Mario Dumont’s Action démocratique du Québec win the election, Quebec sovereigntists will certainly continue to work toward a vote on separation.
Will Canada be ready? The problem is not our ongoing debate over whether Quebec should remain within the Canadian federation. The intense national controversy last November over the adoption of the House of Commons resolution recognizing “the Québécois” as a “nation within a united Canada” vividly reminded us that this issue is far from settled. Indeed, it may be Canada’s particular fate to engage periodically in existential constitutional discussions that may be...
Sujit Choudhry holds the Scholl Chair at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law and is cross-appointed to the Department of Political Science and the School of Public Policy and Governance. His most recent book is The Migration of Constitutional Ideas (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
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