Quebec Nationalism Versus the Internet
Mark Weller
In discussing national unity, it is sometimes important to step back from the debate and consider how the dispute fits into the grand scheme of things.
By the early part of the twentieth century, information technology will have developed to the point where worldwide communications will be an integral part of the lives of most Canadians. Television viewers will select what movies they wish to watch and have them downloaded on demand to their televisions. Movie-quality images of friends from the other side of the earth will be available via communications satellites that will beam digital messages around the world. Complex documents, programs, and multimedia will be available to anyone, anywhere, with the click of a button. This is the emerging world of the Internet.
So what effect will this information revolution have on Canadian society?
First, the notion that Canadians are cut off from one another will begin to diminish. Although we will still be separated geologically, in terms of the exchange of information and data, the ability for rapid and inexpensive communication will shrink the country.
Second, the interdependence of national economies will be increased. At the moment, the amount of business conducted on the Internet is small, but soon it will be much greater. As commerce increases in cyberspace, each nation will grow increasingly dependent on it as a means of doing business—particularly in an international context. Already one can log on and order anything from hardcover books to foam insulation on the World Wide Web. This sort of trans-national commerce will allow individuals to shop the globe for bargains, with a corresponding psychological effect. People will increasingly view themselves as citizens of the world, and not only a nation-state.
Many computer experts have in fact suggested that the Internet, combined with increased international trade, is already beginning to erode the importance of the nation state. In fact, some have argued that by the middle of the next century, loyalty to one's country of birth may resemble the loyalty one has for their alma mater, or for their local football team. Nationalism, in an age of pronounced international interdependence, will wane.
So what of Canadian unity, and in particular, the Quebec question? Although separatist politicians have sometimes remarked that demographics are on their side, an important qualification must be made. True, young people in Quebec are more sover-eigntist than their parents are, but they are also more internationalist. Whether Quebec leaves Canada or not, it is still part of the emerging international marketplace. Quebeckers I have spoken to, sovereigntist or otherwise, feel there would be no border of any kind between Canada and an independent Quebec. No toll booths, no new area codes, and, I might add, no disruption of Internet service.
At their base, these two images of the future are not compatible. Either Quebec shuts itself off from the rest of the world (as seems to have been the dream of xenophobic nationalists), or the people of Quebec will toss off their inhibitions and become part of the emerging global economy. In my view, the forces of change will require Quebec to choose the latter, but in any case, whether Quebec stays in Canada or goes, the declining role of the nation state may render the entire discussion moot within 40 years.
This article originally appeared in the November 1996 issue of Fraser Forum.
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