Constituency Homogeneity, Economic Risk and Support for Quebec Sovereignty: A Research Note

This article presents a test of the argument that vulnerability to economic dislocation, primarily as it is represented by economic homogeneity in communities, exercises a constraint on levels of support for Quebec nationalism. The guiding hypothesis is that residents of economically vulnerable ridi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of political science 2003-07, Vol.36 (3), p.643-656
Main Authors: Duchesne, Erick, Eagles, Munroe, Erfle, Stephen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Canada
Constituents
Economic Conditions
Economic models
Economics
Economics and politics
Electoral districts
Employment
French Canadians
Homogenization
Legislative Districts
Nationalism
Political independence
Political science
Public opinion
Quebec
Referendum
Referendums
Risk
Risk aversion
Separatism
Sovereignty
Voting
Voting Behavior
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article presents a test of the argument that vulnerability to economic dislocation, primarily as it is represented by economic homogeneity in communities, exercises a constraint on levels of support for Quebec nationalism. The guiding hypothesis is that residents of economically vulnerable ridings will be reluctant to accept the risks attached with political moves toward independence. The authors employ data on the level of support for the Bloc Québécois in the federal elections of 1993 and 1997, and the proportion voting "Yes" in the 1995 sovereignty referendum in Quebec, in the province's 75 federal electoral districts as their measures of support for sovereignty. Results suggest that there is a relationship between the geographies of potential economic vulnerability and the level of nationalist support, particularly evident in the 1995 referendum voting and the 1997 election. Calculations involving perceived economic vulnerability and risk remain as powerful defenders of the political status quo in Quebec.
ISSN:0008-4239
1744-9324
DOI:10.1017/S0008423903778809