Quebec and the Constitution 1960-1978

The Quiet Revolution and two major language bills have transformed Quebec society. Ottawa’s response to Quebec’s constitutional demands has been slow and erratic. Today Ottawa’s bilingualism policies are under heavy criticism. To complicate matters, the English-speaking provinces are seeking more autonomy; and the centralizing economics of John Maynard Keynes – our modern ‘father of Confederation’ – are being challenged. Can our constitution cope with these stresses? Should it be amended, rewritten – or perhaps simply ignored?

Edward McWhinney offers the first thorough analysis of nearly two decades of constitutional development. His book examines Quebec’s demands since 1960 for social, economic, linguistic, and political self-determination, and the implications of these demands for our federal system. It also looks at the new pressures on such federal institutions as the Senate and the Supreme Court coming from the constitutional proposals of the English-speaking premiers. The responses of successive federal governments, up to the Constitutional Amendment Bill of 1978, are studied.

Since the election in 1976 of a Quebec government officially committed to separatism, the province has begun, without constitutional challenge, to transfer power to new social and economic elite. Edward McWhinney scrutinizes the mechanisms of Quebec’s transformation and, in his general survey of constitutional evolution, suggests new possibilities for a truly ‘cooperative federalism’ and ‘renewed’ Confederation.