This paper traces the economic and political evolution of Quebec-Canada relations from the 1980 Referendum through to the July 2004 Council of the Federation (COF) meeting at Niagara-on-the Lake. The underlying thesis is that Quebec’s traditional demands for acquiring greater powers within the federation have now given way to demands for acquiring greater access to revenues in order to be able to fully exercise its\u00a0existing\u00a0<\/em>constitutional powers. What has triggered this rather dramatic shift is the advent of globalization and the knowledge-based era (KBE), both of which have served to redefine what meaningful sovereignty is all about in the 21st century. In short, sovereignty is now about how societies live, and work and play, which in turn means that on the policy front it is all about education, skills, health, cities and citizens generally. In Canada, these are largely\u00a0provincial\u00a0<\/em>powers. This being the case, it is hardly surprising that Quebec’s rallying cry is focussed on restoring vertical fiscal balance in the federation.<\/p>\n With the resurgence of the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois to 54 seats and 49% of the popular vote in the June election, uncertainty is again on the horizon. Partly because of this, but more because of the way in which Quebec- Canada relations were evolving in any event, the September First Ministers’ Meeting is emerging as one of the watershed moments in our history. Much more than the future of medicare is at stake, since the issues relating to vertical fiscal balance, equalization, Quebec’s distinctive status (as recognized in the recent Council of the Federation provision for the province’s opting out with compensation for pharmacare) as well as the division of powers themselves are also on the table. Adding to this menu is the reality that the forthcoming Throne Speech will focus on health, children and cities\u2013arguably all of which fall under provincial jurisdiction. Accordingly, the essay concludes with an assessment of the potential implications of this forthcoming \u201cSummit of the Canadas.\u201d\u009d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Abstract This paper traces the economic and political evolution of Quebec-Canada relations from the 1980 Referendum through to the July 2004 Council of the Federation (COF) meeting at Niagara-on-the Lake. The underlying thesis is that Quebec’s traditional demands for acquiring greater powers within the federation have now given way to demands for acquiring greater access […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10289","research-studies","type-research-studies","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n