We Talked to the Newest Leader of Quebec’s Separatist Movement

Mario Beaulieu, image via Facebook.
There’s no denying the Bloc Québécois has seen better days. If you’re not familiar with the party, the Bloc officially came into existence in 1991, when former Brian Mulroney pal and cabinet minister Lucien Bouchard quit the Progressive Conservatives over constitutional issues. Along with a handful of MPs they built the Bloc up quickly, and were so successful they formed the official opposition after the 1993 elections. After the 1995 referendum, Bouchard jumped to the provincial independence-minded Parti Quebecois and was replaced as head of the BQ by Gilles Duceppe—an egghead-y but generally respected politician who, some say, focused too much on getting as much out of Ottawa as possible at the expense of pushing tirelessly, constantly, and relentlessly for independence.

Duceppe stepped down when the BQ was annihilated in the 2011 elections, following the then-Jack Layton-led NDP sweep of Quebec in the so-called Orange Wave. The party had two interim leaders since, but has not made any significant headlines since. In both Ottawa and Quebec, it's largely a forgotten force, its membership dwindling and its influence fading.

Enter Mario Beaulieu. The former head of the hardcore nationalist—and provincially funded—organization Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste has promised to talk about independence all the time—"before, during and after an election." His plan includes an aggressive membership drive and to once again stir up support for Quebec independence, especially, he says, in the province's colleges and universities.

So if you thought the country had enough to deal with given its current government, think again. With a federal election coming next year, Quebec's place in Canada may yet again become an issue. Excited yet?

So what’s his plan? How do you breathe new life into a party, much less a movement, that’s reeling from electoral catastrophe? The sovereignty movement may or may not be dead, especially given its crushing defeat in April’s provincial election, but Beaulieu and a hefty chunk of Quebec’s nationalist-leaning population are far from giving up hope.

I’ve known Beaulieu for years, and this is the first time I’ve interviewed him in English.

VICE: How was your St-Jean-Baptiste Day [Quebec’s national holiday, celebrated June 24]?
Mario Beaulieu: Oh, it was very fine.

Did you do anything for Canada Day?
It was very fine! I went to some events about Moving Day [Quebec doesn’t celebrate Canada Day, instead there’s an odd arrangement involving the majority of residential leases terminating July 1]. But I do want to wish all Canadians and federalists a very happy Canada Day. We are not against Canada or Canadians.

How are you enjoying your new job?
It’s going very well, I love the job. I’m meeting lots of people, a lot of our members, explaining our project to make Quebec a country, and the response has been very encouraging.

Why did you want it?
I became the party’s head because after the last referendum [in 1995], we put sovereignty aside. The Bloc focused on good government and being good in opposition, and not enough on its main project of Quebec independence.

And the results of the April provincial elections were a shock. It brought decline—electoral decline and decline for the support of sovereignty—even though polls showed that between 35 and 40 percent of the electorate supported it, depending on the phrasing of the question. So we have to make a systematic campaign to explain it. Why we are sending $45 billion to Ottawa every year that doesn’t benefit Quebec, money that can be better spent in Quebec? We would be much better off, and Canada would be much better off.

Look at the Champlain Bridge. [The federal government is spending over $4 billion to build a replacement bridge from Montreal’s south shore to the island, scheduled to open in 2018.] Ottawa decided there won’t be a light-rail train over it, there will be tolls, it will bring traffic to other bridges. It’s another example of Quebec being better off deciding these questions.

And look at Lac Mégantic [the rail disaster marked its first anniversary this past weekend]. The federal government decided on the regulations that caused this catastrophe.

What does the French language mean to you, personally?
The French language supports our culture, our unique culture. It’s part of the self-determination to secure the future of our language and culture and way of life.

More and more non-francophones are becoming bilingual. Bill 101 is generally considered a success…
French is in decline in the work place, it’s not the common language. Fifty percent of allophones switch to English at home. [Bill 101’s education mandate, that immigrant children have to be educated in French, among other rules] has been a success at the elementary and high school levels but not at CEGEP [Quebec’s two-year junior college system]. English colleges are better financed and are better attended than francophone ones.

Bill 101 is not against individual bilingualism. The problem is institutional bilingualism.

What does the Bloc want from the rest of Canada?
The Bloc Québécois wants a relation of equals with the rest of Canada. An independent Quebec would take control over our own decisions on issues such as international trade and the economy. We want a respectful relationship.

How do you think the rest of Canada sees the BQ? Or for that matter Quebec in general?
Some people in Canada critique the Bloc and question its right to exist, but we say that Quebec independentists pay their federal taxes and have a right to be represented in Ottawa.

There is a very negative view in parts of English Canada. We’re accused of being tribal, of being closed in on ourselves. We’ve seen articles in the media, especially the National Post, that accuse us of being prejudicial and intimidating. But why is Canadian nationalism a good thing in their eyes, but considered tribal and bigoted in Quebec?

Others are more respectful and are interested in hearing our point of view. They want a dialogue, which would be good for the future of both Quebec and Canada.

Independent-minded parties suffered crushing losses in the last two elections, at the federal level in 2011 and at the provincial level last April. You just said that you—like many other people in the province—were shocked by them. What do you think accounts for those results?
For me, the results are the result of an approach the independence movement has had since 1995, when we talked about good governance at the expense of independence. So people were not ready for a discussion about independence.

Well there are serious issues other than sovereignty to discuss. Crime and corruption, health, education, a languishing economy…
All of those questions are interrelated. In order to reinforce our economy we need to control all of our tools. Each and every year we send $45 billion to Ottawa. That money is managed by Canada in the best interests of Canadians. We want to use that money our way, to build an economy based on sustainability, renewable energy and knowledge-based industries. Canada spends it on the oil and auto parts industries.

The last two results have led to a lot of people saying the sovereignty movement is dead, that it’s a one-generation movement.
It’s been very often said that the movement is dead, but every time it has emerged stronger. This is the first time in the history of Quebec where all generations have supported the idea. About a third of young people are for independence, and more and more people feel Québécois rather than Canadian. There is still a lot of hope there.

But are young Quebecers especially able to be part of an increasingly globalized, internationalized world if they lack English?
Well, international has the word “national” in it. If we want equitable globalization and equity between nations it has to start at home. Just like the Catalans want their self-determination, just like the Scots, the Welsh and just like other minority movements elsewhere in the world.

So you support independence for Catalonia, Scotland and Wales?
I support the principle of self-determination. It’s a fundamental right as recognized by the United Nations.

Getting back to local politics, you seem to have some pretty strong differences with former long-time Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe and other members of the Bloc. What happened there?
In my acceptance speech, I said that after 20 years, we have to change our strategy. There have been many good actions in the past, but there has never been a large campaign with our partners in civil society to explain independence other than to our own members. We are planning a major campaign with over 30 organizations within civil society in Quebec, a door-to-door campaign, meeting with people in colleges and universities.

And for the next year, we will try to recruit new members because membership is on the decline. We have less than 20,000 members now, down from around 100,000 in 1994-95. We’ll try to have 50,000 by next year.

What’s your personal relationship with Gilles Duceppe like now?
My relations with many older members is good. I will talk to Duceppe and we’ll be united in this campaign. We will talk about sovereignty before, during, and after the campaign. We had a serious defeat in 2011. So we have to look to the future and work for this noble and just cause.