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ABSTRACTThis article proposes an interpretation based on the European liberal et national movement. Starting from the theorical models of the Nation building and nationalism, the author tries to develop a typology applicable to the Canadian experience. He asks if what has been described in the historiography until now as particular is not really universal.

AbstractThis article analyses how the French press, and more particularly the republican press (through Le National) reacted to the patriotic uprising in Lower Canada in the last months of 1837. It shows how the information was conveyed as the journalists mainly read articles published in the English press which itself largely borrowed its information from American newspapers and some Canadian ones. With some delay, the French nationalist press took up the Canadian cause and made it its own after having disregarded it as “merely” Canadian. Le National saw in the resistance of the Canadian patriotic movement an illustration of the French Republicans' resistance to autocratic and oppressive monarchs and more particularly a rejection of the British system of government. Thus the left-wing newspaper presented this cause as heralding a new era in which revolutionary France and French people would lead the world again by enlightening and freeing oppressed populations.

AbstractDifferences in the French and Quebec historiographic perspectives allow for fruitful approaches, as this case study about the Spanish Civil War intends to demonstrate. The purpose of this article is not to study the content of the discourses once more, but rather the various uses made of a reference — i.e. how Le Devoir used and referred to the French press at the time. It is possible to observe several borrowing and selection devices, as well as silences and unspoken comments ; the French press (from the far right, from the right, as well as Catholic papers) was used in a local context, for the Spanish Civil War was also instructive on this level.

SummaryIn a context of economic integration, does a distinctive regulatory framework for employment act as a restraint on economic development? This is often publicly asserted by representatives of Canadian employers, who maintain that the Quebec regulatory framework is detrimental to employment and penalizes Quebec in firms' strategic decisions. On the basis of a comparison of the American and Quebec regulatory frameworks, this assertion is discussed in light of the perception of decision makers working in multinational firms established in Quebec and the United States. Our study reveals that the Quebec regulatory framework is perceived in a more cautious way by the decision makers interviewed. This calls into question some of the stereotypical ideas on this subject and leads us to initiate a theoretical exploration of the links between the regulatory framework applicable to employment and economic development policies.Regulatory framework refers to the set of laws on labour and employment including those applicable to collective relations. In other words, it entails formal sources of labour regulation emanating directly from the state. In addition to this narrow definition of regulatory framework, we also seek to take into account the formal regulation associated with collective labour relations since the latter are themselves conditioned by law. Strategic decisions relate to firms' choices of investment or development of operations, including those related to production locations and targeted markets.Through an analysis of the relevant literature, the first part of the article identifies the research objective and presents the research design. The second part examines the two regulatory frameworks under consideration, with a particular focus on the distinct logic underlying each one. The third part of the article sets out the results of our study of leaders of firms operating in these two systems. The conclusion identifies a number of research avenues in the areas of both theory and public policies.This study draws on two methodologies: a comparative analysis of the two regulatory frameworks and an exploratory empirical study of the perceptions of actors whose experience allows us to compare these systems. The co-authors personally conducted 22 interviews in eight firms between May 2004 and January 2005, usually at the head office located in the Quebec province. All the interviewees were involved in strategic decision-making—division heads, plant managers or more often, vice-presidents of human resources.In the specific area of collective labour relations, during the Second World War, Quebec adopted a legal framework inspired from that established under the New Deal in the United States during the previous decade. Ever since, while its essential principles have been maintained, numerous changes have been made to Quebec's legal system, thus intensifying its specific character and distinct nature in terms of labour relations. However, the examination of the entire regulatory framework, as explored in this article, highlights much more fundamental differences between the Quebec and American systems. In particular, the two frameworks are derived from two different legal regimes—the Civil Code and the Common Law—and in recent years, Quebec has made much more progressive and substantial advances in the minimum conditions that apply to the entire working population.The particularities of the Quebec regulatory framework arise from its hybrid nature. Owing to its origins and history, it is at the same time a product of French civil law, certain characteristics of the British and Canadian approaches, and especially, more belatedly, of the American approach to collective labour relations. This hybrid nature places the Quebec system half-way between American liberalism and the interventionism associated with several countries in continental Europe.Three types of observation emerge from the interviews. First, the firms' leaders tend to assess the characteristics of the Quebec regulatory framework for employment in the context of economic integration with the United States. Without making the regulatory framework a primary factor, the economic context is nevertheless seen as giving it considerable importance in strategic corporate decisions. Second, their perceptions go beyond the content of public discourses on the “costs of regulation” in order to specify what are, in their eyes, the main challenges and the real issues. It is then possible to define how the various aspects of regulation can influence certain types of corporate decisions. Third, although the decision makers interviewed did not call into question the foundations of the existing labour regulation regime in Quebec, they nevertheless suggest that this framework is only viable in certain sectors of economic activity and in certain types of production.The hybrid nature of Quebec's regulatory framework reflects European approaches, notably French civil law and recent laws on equity and social protection, but also the American collective labour relations regime. This phenomenon is, of course, significant for thinking about the economy and public policies but it also raises important theoretical questions in social sciences. The conclusion explores these two dimensions in light of the empirical data presented in this study. The key question concerns the possibilities and limitations of a distinct regulatory framework, with all its attendant particularities, in an environment in the grip of neo-liberal hegemony.

The study of the economic relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada must start with the long-term trend in the relative weights of both economies. Quebec's share of the Canadian economy has been declining almost without pause since 1966. After 1974, the modernization of its industrial structure brought a reversal, albeit a slight one, in the relative productivity of the Quebec labor force, but this catching-up phase seems to have stopped at the end of the Eighties. Indeed a more appropriate measure of relative labor productivities would indicate a larger gap between Quebec and the rest of Canada than is commonly acknowledged in Quebec. The reduction in federal deficits since 1994 does not explain the relative stagnation in Quebec: the global equalization envelope that is provided by the rest of Canada has not, contrary to public opinion, been reduced. Neither do the new currents in world trade, which have seen Quebec perform as well as the rest of Canada in the North American market. It thus seems the development of high-tech sectors in Quebec will not suffice all by itself to kick-start the process of catching up with the rest of Canada in éeconomic matters.

While certain authors (GIDDENS, FORTIN) do not consider rural space as a constituent element of modernity, we consider on the contrary that it is an essential factor in advanced modernity. An ideal space for the representation of nature and the environment, rural space now tends to take its place as a space for social controversy and a privileged place of the cultural orientation of advanced modernity. In order to clarify this fundamental change, we examine the construction of the representation of rural life in Quebec through the debates between the different actors involved in this redefinition from the mid- 1960s through to the mid-1990s. This study brings to light the diversity of discourse on the role of rural space. It shows how the political transformation of modern environmentalism have contributed to making rural space the focus of the collective action of an increasing number of actors and makes it possible to assess the importance of the cultural dimensions of collective action in advanced modern societies. In addition, this study reveals the increasing importance of public space in the context of post-industrial societies. In essence, the urban-rural relationships fully reflect the dynamics of the social relationships characteristic of our era.

Rural territories are undergoing profound changes, accelerated by technology or by the mobility of assets and of individuals. The context of rural transformation calls for a review of the observation and analysis instruments along the lines of an integrated methodological approach. This paper raises the question of the relevance of a multidisciplinary approach for research focusing on the development dynamics of Regional County Municipality territories, particularly as regards the relations between towns and country areas (FQRSC, concerted action on rural communities, 2005-2006). The three methods of analysis used are : topodynamics, structural geography and socioenvironmental indicators.

AbstractThe recent wave of studies on memory has greatly contributed to clarifying how the processes of construction and transmission of the collective memory are involved in the creation of “ temporal systems ” specific to each society. Rather than to emphasize the temporal dimension of memory, this article proceeds through a comparison of England and Québec, to provide an up-to-date view of the “ systems of territoriality ” that contributed to instigating the national commemorations in both places. Two emblematic national narrations are analysed : that which took shape in the historiographical current of the Whig History, and that developed through speeches given on the occasion of celebrations of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste holiday.

AbstractOver the past dozen years, Québec has been developing an original family policy, which draws inspiration from certain European countries, while remaining connected with the North American context. Here we present the stages in the development of a comparative and contextual analysis of family policy in Québec, in English Canada, in the United States, in France and in Sweden. These policies are the result of a process of development, implementation and transformation carried on by various social stakeholders, whether in the political-administrative sector, civil society or the family experts' circle. In accordance with their interests and values, these social stakeholders themselves drew their normative and ideological directions from their vision of family dynamics observable in their societies.