By the beginning of 1964 public debate about the terms on which French and English culture could continue to co-exist within a single Canadian federal state had become intense. Many causes could be assigned for the intensity of the debate, but one of them evidently was the lack of clear formulation of the problems. It was in these circumstances that the Association of Canadian Law Teachers and the Canadian Political Science Association used their annual meeting at Charlottetown in 1964 to get, on each of four aspects of the current problem of Canadian federalism, a vigorously reasoned statement, by a French-Canadian and an English-Canadian scholar, of the essentials of the problem as he saw it and then, by way of invited commentaries, to bring the ideas more fully into play. The four aspects were: competing concepts of federalism, economic problems peculiar to our federal state, legal and political attitudes towards the BNA Act, and institutional problems of a revision of the Act.

In this comprehensive book on Canadian federalism, the author thoroughly examines the Quebec sovereignty issue in order to determine whether or not reasonable and substantial grounds exist justifying Quebec sovereignty in the context of contemporary Canada. As a result, this book examines the successive layers that constitute Canadian federalism to unravel its nature, essence and the successes of its functioning, or the lack thereof, particularly with respect to Quebec. Ultimately, no matter how the federation is portrayed, if it has worked and continues to work well to achieve the most basic needs and interests of Quebecers, there leaves little if anything in support of secession. The fundamental success of the Canadian federation is the all-important lesson of this book.

Quebec’s most recent attempts to assert its distinctiveness within Canada have relied on unilateral constitutional means to strengthen its French and secular character, suggesting that an important change of political culture has taken place in Quebec. With its diverse team of researchers, Contemporary Federalist Thought in Quebec considers the recent history of the debate that once threatened Canada with disjunction, exploring the federalist thought that continues to shape constitutional debate in Quebec. Examining historical perspectives from 1950 to the present day, the volume draws portraits of the key actors in the federalist movement – including political leaders, intellectuals, academics, activists, and spokespersons for pressure groups – comparing their various outlooks, interventions, and values, and examining the ties that bind these actors to the sense of nationalism that emerged during Quebec’s Quiet Revolution. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, Contemporary Federalist Thought in Quebec casts new light on the continuing debate surrounding Quebec’s place in Canada and gives nuance to what is traditionally conceived as a rigid opposition between sovereigntists and federalists in the province.