Canada has been struggling to find a place for Francophone QuΘbec and its separatist tendencies almost since the foundation of the state. The issue rose to prominence again in 1976 when the separatist QuΘbec Party (PQ) won power in the 1976 QuΘbec provincial elections. The PQ at first advocated independence then economic association. However, its proposals were rejected in a referendum in 1980 by 59.5% to 40.5%. In 1990, a constitutional agreement, the Meech Lake Accord, recognized QuΘbec as a distinct society within the Canadian Federation. The Accord also granted additional powers to other federal states. However, it was not ratified, as Newfoundland objected to its provisions. In 1992, another proposal, the Charlottetown Agreement, was put to referendum. This recognized QuΘbec as a distinct society and granted the province a guaranteed 25% of seats in the National Assembly. This was turned down both in QuΘbec and at the national level. Opinion polls suggest that a majority of Canadians have lately lost enthusiasm for too much federalism. In 1993, Mr. Robert Bourassa, the then QuΘbec premier, declared that QuΘbec's aspirations could best be met without cutting all ties with Ottawa.
NAFTA
The proposed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) dominated the Canadian elections of 1988. Many are still opposed to the agreement. There are fears that Canadian workers may suffer from competition from Mexico. Tensions between Canadian and US trade unions have also risen as Canadian workers have been forced to accept more flexible US working practices. Many sectors of business, particularly grains, oilseeds, textiles, oil and gas and engineering services, have benefited from NAFTA.
Profile
Until recently, Canadian politics were dominated by three main parties. The PCP and LP had few ideological differences. The NDP advocated greater government intervention. Only the PCP and LP had held office. The NDP gained influence when voters registered a mid-term protest.
Major political changes were seen in 1993. Brian Mulroney, the leader of the PCP, resigned in the wake of economic recession, the unpopularity of a new sales tax and the failure of the Charlottetown Agreement. He was replaced by Kim Campbell as PCP leader. However, in elections in October 1993, nine years of PCP rule were brought to an end by a landslide LP victory. The PCP held onto only 2 of its 157 seats while the NDP managed to hold 8 out of 44 seats. The change represented a rejection of mainstream politics by the electorate who voted in favor of parties representing strong regional interests.
