It's all about the money

The question, is Quebec a distinct nation, is one that has stifled our country for the past 60 years. Prime Minister Harper's definition, Quebec is a nation within a sovereign Canada, is the most accurate depiction of our current reality. Pierre Trudeau set the groundwork for this nationhood to happen with the repatriation of the Constitution and "allowing" Quebec not to sign on (along with Bill C-20) and Jean Chretien along with Paul Martin enabled the process by throwing money to their every whim and bowing to their every demand. As far as the rights and responsibilities Quebec has within Canada they are indeed an independent nation within our borders.

The irony is that Quebec's sovereignty has never been about sovereignty. It has always been all about the money. Rene Levesque, the modern champion of an independent Quebec, was a visionary who saw two independent events as touchstones for Quebec's prosperity and place of influence within Canada. The Leduc oil discovery and Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis' unwillingness to nationalize Quebec's hydropwer. As a former Minister of Hydroelectric Resources and Public Works knew the relevance of these two events to the futures of their respective provincial economies and the subsequent shift in the balance of power in the country. Levesque and subsequent PQ leaders used Quebec's "identity" issues to rally support among the masses, and any gains around these issues are frosting on the cake.

Assuming sovereignists are rational people why would they want to leave a confederation that has contributed more to their well-being than they themselves have contributed.