L’expérience coloniale anglaise et les relations interculturelles au Québec

Le Québec est présentement aux prises avec un malaise envers les immigrants qui a soulevé une série de débats dans les médias de masse, dans les cercles universitaires et communautaires pour ensuite prendre un caractère politique et public. Cet inconfort a soulevé une crainte des Québécois canadiens français que les immigrants envahissent le Québec en refusant d’adopter pleinement la culture québécoise, les laissant minoritaires et impuissants sur leur propre territoire. Une crainte que la culture, la langue et les valeurs québécoises deviennent aliénées. Celle-ci semble prendre origine dans la période de colonisation britannique du Québec (18e siècle) qui s’est ensuite transformée pour former le mouvement nationaliste contemporain. Face à ce constat, une question se pose: comment l’expérience coloniale du Québec influence-t-elle la manière dont les Québécois vivent avec la diversité culturelle aujourd’hui? Nous argumenterons que la conséquence principale de la colonisation britannique est un réflexe inconscient entretenu par une absence de conscience historique qui teinte les mécanismes de compréhension que les Québécois Canadiens français ont de l’Autre. Comme la compréhension influence grandement les actions, ce biais influence ultimement les interactions et les relations interculturelles. Au travers d’entrevues de Québécois Canadiens français et d’immigrants, nous démontrerons l’influence que cette crainte a sur la compréhension et sur les discours et explorerons comment les immigrants réagissent à ce Québec. Quebecers are now struggling with the presence of new immigrants in the province which many identified as an « identity crisis ». From 2006 onwards, many debates on the question were widely broadcasted in the media and extensively discussed within academia and NGOs, ultimately affecting the political sphere. Those debates revealed a constant nervousness of the French Canadian population of Quebec that immigrants were invading the province, refusing to adopt Quebec’s unique culture, leaving them as a marginalized alienated community on their own territory. This fear seems to have its origins in the British colonial era of the 18th century, then transformed into the modern nationalist movement that reemerged in the middle of the 20th century. A question then arises : What are the effects of the British colonial era on the way Quebecers understand and interact with immigrants ? We argue that it resulted in an unconscious cultural reflex, maintained by a lack of historical consciousness, to protect itself from potential new invaders influencing the mechanisms of how Quebecers understand the Other. As understanding has great effects on action, this view ultimately affected intercultural relations and interactions. Through interviews with Quebec’s French Canadians and immigrants, we showed the influence of that fear in understanding and discourse and explored how immigrants react to Quebec’s situation.

Keyphrases: Relations interculturelles, Histoire, Québec, Colonisation, Nationalisme, Identité nationale, Compréhension, Herméneutique, Interactions, Immigration, Intercultural relations, Quebec, History, Colonialism, Nationalism, National identity, Interactions, Understanding, Hermeneutics