page_title: Canadian nationalism
section_title: Québécois nationalism
hierarchical_section_title: Canadian nationalism / History / Québécois nationalism
caption_attribution_description: Célébration de la Fête Nationale du Québec le 24 juin 2006 au parc Maisonneuve à Montréal.
context_page_description: Canadian nationalism seeks to promote the unity, independence, and well-being of Canada and Canadians. Canadian nationalism has been a significant political force since the 19th century and has typically manifested itself as seeking to advance Canada's independence from influence of the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Since the 1960s, most proponents of Canadian nationalism have advocated a civic nationalism due to Canada's cultural diversity that specifically has sought to equalize citizenship, especially for Québécois and French-speaking Canadians, who historically faced cultural and economic discrimination and assimilationist pressure from English Canadian-dominated governments. Canadian nationalism became an important issue during the 1988 Canadian general election that focused on the then-proposed Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement, with Canadian nationalists opposing the agreement - saying that the agreement would lead to inevitable complete assimilation and domination of Canada by the United States.
context_section_description: Another early source of pan-Canadian nationalism came from Quebec in the early 20th century. Henri Bourassa, Mayor of Montebello and one-time Liberal Member of Parliament created the Canadian Nationalist League (Ligue nationaliste canadienne) supporting an independent role for Canada in foreign affairs opposed to both British and American imperialism. Bourassa also supported Canadian economic autonomy. Bourassa was instrumental in defeating Sir Wilfrid Laurier in the federal election of 1911 over the issue of a Canadian Navy controlled by the British Empire, something he furiously opposed. In so doing, he aided the Conservative Party of Sir Robert Borden in that election, a party with strong British imperialist sympathies.
  In the federal election of 1917 he was also instrumental in opposing the Borden government's plan for conscription and as a result assisted the Laurier Liberals in Quebec. His vision of a unified, bi-cultural, tolerant and sovereign Canada remains an ideological inspiration to many Canadian nationalists. Alternatively his French Canadian nationalism and support for maintaining French Canadian culture would inspire Quebec nationalists many of whom were supporters of the Quebec sovereignty movement.
caption: Fête Nationale du Québec (or Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day) celebrated here in June 2006
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