Active History

Francesco Coirazza

“Multiculturalism finally no longer applies to Quebec! […] It’s a model that has always been harmful to Quebec,” claimed Minister of the French Language Jean-François Roberge in the salon rouge of the Quebec legislature on 28 May 2025. On that day, Quebec’s National Assembly passed Bill 84: An Act Respecting National Integration, a controversial law introduced by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government. Spearheaded by Roberge, the bill establishes a new integration framework aimed at preserving Quebec’s French language and cultural identity by shifting further away from Canada’s multicultural immigration model. Two parties that, at one time or another, have claimed to be on the left voted on the bill that Wednesday morning. They landed on opposite sides of the ledger. The Parti Québecois (PQ), arguably a social democratic party for a significant part of its existence, voted with the CAQ, while the younger and more unambiguously leftist Québec solidaire (QS) voted against the bill.[1] As we will come to recognize, these opposing responses underscore a deep ideological split within Quebec’s nationalist Left—one increasingly defined by the immigration question. In this particular case, Bill 84 can be used as a lens to reveal how two progressive parties—the PQ and QS—have grown apart (with the PQ making a sharp departure from leftist politics), especially when considering the hot topic of immigration in Quebec. By retracing their respective historical progressions, we are able to understand how nationalism in Quebec can be used both as a tool for exclusion or a foundation for solidarity and inclusion along cultural lines.

Founded in 1968, the Parti Québécois emerged out of the Quiet Revolution and the growing support for Quebec sovereignty. It was initially a party of the left, combining social democracy with cultural nationalism. André Bernard outlines how “during the time of its first mandate, from 1976 to 1981, the PQ government followed typical practices that other social-democratic maintained during that same era.” Furthermore, Bernard notes, “most PQ members during the seventies called themselves social-democrats. René Lévesque, their leader, often defined himself as such and supported social-democratic resolutions.” [2] The PQ’s first electoral victory in 1976 marked the beginning of a government that emphasized francophone empowerment but also advocated progressive measures such as the integration of newcomers. As Martin Pâquet explains, PQ policies in the 1970s were grounded in the theory of “Autant de façons d’être Québécois” (Many ways to be Quebecois) — a pluralist ideology that recognized diverse cultural contributions within a common national identity.[3] Immigration rapidly diversified under the PQ: by 1980, immigrants from the Maghreb, Latin America, and Southeast Asia made up 53% of Quebec’s immigration intake, compared to 27% in 1973.[4] This increased acceptance of allophone immigrants reflected a deliberate policy of openness in early PQ policy. Under the PQ in the 70’s there was a much more even playing field for all potential immigrants, francophones and allophones alike. Gérald Godin, former PQ Minister of Immigration (and, interestingly, October Crisis detainee), embodied this inclusive vision. He hoped Quebec would become “ a global model, a homeland where a brotherhood between diverse peoples will have been achieved.”[5] Godin’s efforts to regularize the status of 10,000 undocumented Haitians in 1981 (despite pressures from the federal government) further confirmed this progressive stance.[6]