“Vive le Québec libre”: Separatism, Sovereignty, and Nationalisms in 1960s Quebec and Canada

In Canada’s centennial year, after paying a visit to Expo ’67, French President Charles de Gaulle delivered a stirring speech to a huge crowd in front of Montreal’s city hall. He concluded with the words “Vive le Québec libre!”, the slogan that Quebec separatists had been chanting earlier that day. Loosely translated, it means “Long live a free Quebec!”

By the late-1960s, various groups supporting Quebec nationalism, sovereigntism, and separatism – which are not the same thing – were on the rise. They ranged from those who wanted more power for the province of Quebec within Canada, to people who wanted an independent Quebec so it could return to its conservative, Catholic roots, to radical separatists, inspired by Marxism and global decolonization movements, some of whom were prepared to use violence to achieve their objectives.

This lecture will untangle the different forms of nationalism, sovereigntism, and separatism that were coursing through Quebec politics, social movements, and society in the 1960s, and consider their various manifestations, including the newly formed Parti Québécois (PQ), and the radical Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ).  We will consider the impacts of this social movement both within Quebec, but also its ramifications for the rest of Canada, including how the major federal parties responded to this challenge to their country. We will also examine the long-term impacts of the separatist movement and Quebec nationalism, and how they are still highly relevant in Quebec politics today.