Quebec Studies

International Economic Issues of a Sovereign Quebec

Quebec Studies (2001), 31, (1), 61–75.

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3828/qs.31.1.61
Language
English
Pages
15

Abstract

61 International Economic Issues of a Sovereign Quebec* By Fredric C. Menz Clarkson University Horst Feldmann University of Tübingen The separation of Quebec has been a real threat to Canada since the Parti Québécois (PQ) was first elected to govern Quebec in 1976.* Since that time, there have been two referenda held in Quebec on the sovereignty issue. The first referendum was held in 1980 and a majority of the citizens of Quebec voted against a mandate to negotiate "sovereignty-association" with Canada. The second referendum was held one year after the PQ had regained the government in 1994 following the failure to ratify the Meech Lake Accord in 1990 and defeat by referendum of the Charlottetown Accord in 1992. Sovereignty was defeated again but by a very narrow margin, with 50.6 percent no and 49.4 percent voting yes. Opinion polls show that public support for sovereignty within the province has declined somewhat since the 1995 referendum. In most recent polls, support for sovereignty refuses to go much beyond 40 percent.2 In March 2001, Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard quit politics after failing to reignite separatist zeal. His successor, former finance minister Bernard Landry, has been a committed sovereigntist all his political life and few in Quebec doubt that he will call a new referendum if he sees a chance of winning. As opinion polls also show, a fresh push for sovereignty by Quebec nationalists could find high levels of support among the critical group of young and middle-aged francophone Québécois (Warn 2001). Thus, Quebec sovereignty remains a real possibility and a very important Canadian issue. This paper provides an overview and non-technical discussion of the most important international economic policy issues that Quebec would face if it were to become a sovereign nation. We also discuss some of the basic economic research on these issues and the economic policy questions that would confront Quebec. The paper is written on the assumption that there would be a majority vote in favor of sovereignty in Quebec, that the rest of Canada would accept this outcome, and that Quebec's separation from the Canadian confederation would subsequently occur. We focus attention on two issues. The first part of the paper considers possible different forms that economic associations among countries can take and their applicability to a relationship between Quebec and other sovereign nations. The second part discusses the scope for and the effects of macroeconomic policies if Quebec were to become a sovereign nation. While the specific form of political relationship between an independent Quebec and Canada is unknown, we assume that Quebec would be faced with the same economic issues and choices that typically face small sovereign economic entities. This is not a paper about the implications of Quebec sovereignty on the Canadian federation, the possible economic consequences of sovereignty for Quebec, or on relations between Quebec, Canada, or other countries, particularly the United States.3 We also do not consider questions arising from the separation process itself, such as what to do with the accumulated public debt or Québec Studies, Volume 31, Spring/Summer 2001

Access Token

FormatArticle

£25.00
ReferencesPDF

Berg, Andrew, and Eduardo Borenzstein. Full Dollarization: Pros and Cons. Economic Issues 24. Washington, D. C.: International Monetary Fund, December 2000. Full Dollarization: Pros and Cons Google Scholar

Boadway, Robin, Thomas J. Courchene, and Douglas D. Purvis (ed.). Economic Dimensions of Constitutional Change. Kingston, Ont.: John Deutsch Institute for the Study of Economic Policy, Queen's University, 1991. Economic Dimensions of Constitutional Change Google Scholar

Chipello, Christopher J. "Quebec's Separatists Look to Fiery New Premier," Wall Street Journal 17 April 2001: All. Quebec's Separatists Look to Fiery New Premier Wall Street Journal All Google Scholar

Clausing, Kimberly. "The Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement: Stepping Stone or Stumbling Block?" Photocopy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1995. Cited in Jeffrey A. Frankel. Regional Trading Blocs in the World Economic System. Washington, D. C.: Institute for International Economics, 1997. 92. Photocopy Google Scholar

Courchene, Thomas J. "Revitalizing and Rebalancing Canadian Federalism: In Quest of a New ‘National Policy’." Quebec-Canada: What is the Path Ahead? Ed. John E. Trent, Robert Young, and Guy LaChapelle. Ottawa: U Ottawa P, 1996. 149-64. Quebec-Canada: What is the Path Ahead? 149 64 Google Scholar

Courchene, Thomas J. and Richard G. Harris. From Fixing to Monetary Union: Options for North American Currency Integration. Commentary 127. Toronto: C. D. Howe Institute, June 1999. From Fixing to Monetary Union: Options for North American Currency Integration Google Scholar

Engel, Charles, and John Rogers. "How Wide is the Border?" American Economic Review 86 (1996): 1112-25. How Wide is the Border? American Economic Review 86 1112 25 Google Scholar

Fortin, Pierre. "The Threat of Quebec Sovereignty: Meaning, Likelihood and Economic Consequences." Economic Dimensions of Constitutional Change. Ed. Robin Boadway, Thomas J. Courchene, and Douglas D. Purvis. Kingston, Ont.: John Deutsch Institute for the Study of Economic Policy, Queen's University, 1991. 335-44. Economic Dimensions of Constitutional Change 335 44 Google Scholar

Frankel, Jeffrey A. Regional Trading Blocs in the World Economic System. Washington, D. C.: Institute for International Economics, 1997. Regional Trading Blocs in the World Economic System Google Scholar

Helliwell, John F. "How Do National Borders Matter for Quebec's Trade?" Canadian Journal of Economics 29 (1996): 507-22. How Do National Borders Matter for Quebec's Trade? Canadian Journal of Economics 29 507 22 Google Scholar

Helliwell, John F. How Much Do National Borders Matter? Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institution, 1998. How Much Do National Borders Matter? Google Scholar

Jackson, John H. The World Trading System. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994. The World Trading System Google Scholar

Jockel, Joseph T. "If Canada Breaks Up: Implications for U. S. Policy." Canadian-American Public Policy 7 (September 1991): 24-28. If Canada Breaks Up: Implications for U. S. Policy Canadian-American Public Policy 7 24 28 Google Scholar

Jockel, Joseph T. and Charles-Philippe David (eds.). "Theme Issue: A Sovereign Quebec and the United States," American Review of Canadian Studies 27.1 (1997). Theme Issue: A Sovereign Quebec and the United States American Review of Canadian Studies 27 Google Scholar

LaChapelle, Guy. "Quebec under Free Trade: Between Interdependence and Transnationalism." Quebec under Free Trade: Making Public Policy in North America. Ed. Guy LaChapelle. Sainte-Foy, Quebec: PU du Québec, 1995. 3-23. Quebec under Free Trade: Making Public Policy in North America 3 23 Google Scholar

Lipsey, Richard G., Paul N. Courant, and Christopher T. S. Ragan. Economics, 12th edition. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1999. Economics Google Scholar

McCallum, John. "National Borders Matter: Canada-US Regional Trade Patterns." American Economic Review 85 (1995): 6135-23. National Borders Matter: Canada-US Regional Trade Patterns American Economic Review 85 6135 23 Google Scholar

McCallum, John. "Not a Union Made in Heaven." The Globe and Mail 12 March 2001: All. Not a Union Made in Heaven The Globe and Mail All Google Scholar

McCallum, John. and Chris Green. Parting as Friends: The Economic Consequences for Quebec. Toronto: C. D. Howe Institute, 1991. Parting as Friends: The Economic Consequences for Quebec Google Scholar

McRoberts, Kenneth (ed.). Beyond Quebec: Taking Stock of Canada. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's UP, 1995. Beyond Quebec: Taking Stock of Canada Google Scholar

Palda, Filip. Provincial Trade Barriers: Why the Blockade Must End. Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, 1994. Provincial Trade Barriers: Why the Blockade Must End Google Scholar

Parti Quebecois. Quebec in a New World: The PQ's Plan for Sovereignty. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 1994. Quebec in a New World: The PQ's Plan for Sovereignty Google Scholar

Proulx, Pierre-Paul. "Economic Integration: Its Effects on the Allocation of Powers, and Economic Policy Challenges for Quebec and the Rest of Canada." Quebec-Canada: What is the Path Ahead? Ed. John E. Trent, Robert Young, and Guy LaChapelle. Ottawa: U Ottawa P, 1996. 179-87. Quebec-Canada: What is the Path Ahead? 179 87 Google Scholar

Proulx, Pierre-Paul. "Quebec in North America: From a Borderlands to a Borderless Economy." Québec Studies 16 (1993): 23-37. Quebec in North America: From a Borderlands to a Borderless Economy Québec Studies 16 23 37 Google Scholar

Schwanen, Daniel. One Market, Many Opportunities: The Last Stage in Removing Obstacles to Interprovincial Trade. Commentary 60. Toronto: C. D. Howe Institute, March 1994. One Market, Many Opportunities: The Last Stage in Removing Obstacles to Interprovincial Trade Google Scholar

Smith, Murray. "The Quebec Sovereignty Scenario: Implications for Canadian Trade Policies." Economic Dimensions of Constitutional Change. Ed. Robin Boadway, Thomas J. Courchene, and Douglas D. Purvis. Kingston, Ont.: John Deutsch Institute for the Study of Economic Policy, Queen's University, 1991. 475-88. Economic Dimensions of Constitutional Change 475 88 Google Scholar

Stevens, Sarah A. "The Changing Structure of the Quebec Economy." American Review of Canadian Studies 26 (1996): 523-58. The Changing Structure of the Quebec Economy American Review of Canadian Studies 26 523 58 Google Scholar

Trebilcock, Michael J., and Robert Howse. The Regulation of International Trade. London and New York: Routledge, 1995. The Regulation of International Trade Google Scholar

Trent, John E., Robert Young, and Guy LaChapelle (ed.). Quebec-Canada: What is the Path Ahead? Ottawa: U Ottawa P, 1996. Quebec-Canada: What is the Path Ahead? Google Scholar

Warn, Ken. "Quebec separatists eager to rekindle fire." Financial Times 11 April 2001: 6. Quebec separatists eager to rekindle fire Financial Times 6 Google Scholar

Weintraub, Sidney. "The Dollarization Debate." Issues in International Political Economy 2, Washington, D. C.: Center for Strategic and International Studies, February 2000. The Dollarization Debate Google Scholar

World Trade Organization (WTO). Regionalism and the World Trading System. Geneva: World Trade Secretariat. 1995. Google Scholar

Young, Robert A. The Secession of Quebec and The Future of Canada. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's UP, 1998. The Secession of Quebec and The Future of Canada Google Scholar

Young, Robert A. The Struggle for Quebec: From Referendum to Referendum? Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's UP, 1999. The Struggle for Quebec: From Referendum to Referendum? Google Scholar

If you have private access to this content, please log in with your username and password here

Details

Author details

Menz, Fredric

Feldmann, Horst