Identities in conflict: The Aboriginal question and the politics of recognition in Quebec

Abstract

Abstract The will to have one's own particular identity universally acknowledged and respected is now one of the most significant determinants of the sociopolitical dynamic of contemporary modern societies. However, the actual recognition of difference is more often than not an unsatisfactory and disappointing experience for many of the groups and communities striving for that recognition. The recent experience of Canadian Aboriginal peoples is a case in point. This article looks at the struggle of Aboriginal nations for recognition in one particular region of Canada, the province of Quebec. Indeed, Quebec offers a revealing case‐study of the peculiarities of the politics of recognition. For over three decades now, the French‐speaking majority of Quebec has striven to assert its ethnocultural distinctiveness and laid claims to a special status within the Canadian political and constitutional framework. Today, both Quebecers and Aboriginals are recognition seekers within the Canadian polity. As a result, their relationship is inevitably marked by their respective but competing attempt to draw the attention of the Canadian state to their particular identity claims. In recent years, this has led to a highly conflictual dynamic which considerably strains any hope of social and cultural coexistence. The article examines the particularities of the politics of recognition in the Quebec context. Its objective is twofold. First, it should serve to shed some light on the manifestations of Aboriginal ethnonationalism in Canada. Secondly, it seeks to illustrate the limitations and paradoxical nature of the politics of recognition within a liberal framework.