What draws a new immigrant to Quebec separatism?

[crowd chanting] "Québec solidaire." "Québec solidaire." "Québec solidaire."

Celebrations at a party for Québec separatists.

They're watching election results come in on October 5th, 2026.

[crowd cheering] Elbow to elbow, they're packed into one of Montreal's most popular nightclubs.

[crowd chanting] "Amère." "Amère." "Amère."

At the bar, a rare anglophone is found, and he asks what all the noise is about.

[crowd cheering] 'We weren't sure André was going to win," explains this supporter, "But now he's been declared elected," she says, "So we're happy." [crowd cheering] An outsider stumbling into this space would surely think that it was a victory party.

The atmosphere is jubilant, at times ecstatic.

[crowd cheering] But in fact, it's a party for the party that came in last in the popular vote.

Québec Solidaire is the other separatist party of Québec.

A party volunteer explains why she thinks two separatist parties are needed right now.

I'd say the vision of sovereignty is very different.

For Québec Solidaire, it's an inclusive sovereignty.

[crowd cheering] It's proposing a constituent assembly where everyone gathers: First Nations, Inuit, Francophones, Anglophones, to decide what kind of Québec we want.

It's sovereignty with social justice.

And at the moment, with Parti Québécois, it's not the same vision.

That's a more exclusive sovereignty: identitarian, Francophone, Québécois, white.

With Québec Solidaire, it is a sovereignty that includes everyone.

[crowd cheering]

Note that supporters of the Parti Québécois do not endorse this account of what's separating the separatists.

We'll hear their side of the story in a moment.

But to focus on the distinction itself, excluding versus including is a tension that rises inevitably.

Any nationalist or separatist movement must face it.

How to unite a people is also how to separate a people.

Where to draw the line with the neighbors? Today on Ideas, we continue our series on separatism in Canada and around the world.

[crowd chanting] "Québec solidaire." "Québec solidaire." "Québec solidaire."

Celebrations at a party for Québec separatists.

They're watching election results come in on October 5th, 2026.

[crowd cheering] Elbow to elbow, they're packed into one of Montreal's most popular nightclubs.

[crowd chanting] "Amère." "Amère." "Amère."

At the bar, a rare anglophone is found, and he asks what all the noise is about.

[crowd cheering] 'We weren't sure André was going to win," explains this supporter, "But now he's been declared elected," she says, "So we're happy." [crowd cheering] An outsider stumbling into this space would surely think that it was a victory party.

The atmosphere is jubilant, at times ecstatic.

[crowd cheering] But in fact, it's a party for the party that came in last in the popular vote.

Québec Solidaire is the other separatist party of Québec.

A party volunteer explains why she thinks two separatist parties are needed right now.

I'd say the vision of sovereignty is very different.

For Québec Solidaire, it's an inclusive sovereignty.

[crowd cheering] It's proposing a constituent assembly where everyone gathers: First Nations, Inuit, Francophones, Anglophones, to decide what kind of Québec we want.

It's sovereignty with social justice.

And at the moment, with Parti Québécois, it's not the same vision.

That's a more exclusive sovereignty: identitarian, Francophone, Québécois, white.

With Québec Solidaire, it is a sovereignty that includes everyone.

[crowd cheering]

Note that supporters of the Parti Québécois do not endorse this account of what's separating the separatists.

We'll hear their side of the story in a moment.

But to focus on the distinction itself, excluding versus including is a tension that rises inevitably.

Any nationalist or separatist movement must face it.

How to unite a people is also how to separate a people.

Where to draw the line with the neighbors? Today on Ideas, we continue our series on separatism in Canada and around the world.