Michael Ignatieff warns Canadian unity at risk

[CHIMO]

Less than a year after he asked Canadian voters to make him prime minister, Michael Ignatieff now warns that the country is drifting toward a breakup.

The ex-Liberal leader and academic made blunt comments about the state of Canadian unity in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Ignatieff told his audience that, whatever happens in the upcoming Scottish referendum, the United Kingdom will inevitably change as a result.

As an example, Ignatieff pointed to Canada's experience with the Quebec sovereignty movement; he said Canada reacted by transferring power to Quebec to satisfy its growing aspirations for autonomy — but he suggested that situation is only temporary.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/04/23/ignatieff-national-unity.html
Apr 23, 2012 8:02 PM ET

[grasswire]

1. and what think ye about Ignatieff's comments?

What do Canadians think?

[CHIMO]

2. I

Think that Harper is making his conclusion correct.

[applegrove]

3. With the Wild Rose Party planning to get federal transfer dollars out of Quebec's hands, Iggy may

just have a point.

[saras]

4. There will be no unity as long as Canada tolerates neocons... Quebec is trivial in comparison

[Lucy Goosey]

5. I agree - I wish Alberta would separate

Who could blame Quebec for wanting to leave Harper's Canada?

I'd seriously consider moving to Quebec if it left, though - I'm right on the border in Ottawa, anyway, and my French is good.

[laundry_queen]

6. As evidenced last night

Alberta is trending more towards the center, despite the rhetoric coming from Wildrose and Harper. They had a few statistics last night that were eye opening (for me) such as 44% of Albertans come from outside the province (a large percentage of those come from outside the country). Another one - 15 years ago Alberta had the oldest average age of all the provinces. It now has the youngest average age. All these things point towards a drift leftwards. It's not Ralph Klein's province anymore. Alison Redford was chastized in the media for moving the PCs to the centre - guess she looks like a genius today.

I agree that I'd like Alberta to move much further to the left. I think it will happen, it'll just take time. There is a lot of parallels between redneck Albertans and Republicans in the States. There is a lot of Fox News-like brainwashing here where people decry spending but expect their premium-free health care. Even so, I found your comment offensive, just as I find it offensive when an idiot redneck around here says, "let'em leave" about Quebec. Alberta also has a rich French heritage. We're not all ranchers or rig pigs. I live in a community that was built by French farmers. I'm fluent in French and was in French Immersion and attended the Francophone wing of the U of A. My kids are in French Immersion. My grandfather, whose family came from Quebec, settled in Manitoba while his uncles came to Alberta. We are all intertwined as Canadians and any comments that sow discord rub me the wrong way.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

7. Thats my thinking too (though, not wanting Anyone to separate)

Wish my French was better, because if push came to shove I think Quebec's values are far closer to mine than Alberta's, at least culturally and historically speaking. Quite often I feel that Quebec is the conscience of the country with regard to balancing personal liberty, equality, mutual responsibility and community. (However, I still wish that Canada would adopt the Turks and Caicos Islands because I hate our winters!)

[saras]

8. The only breakup I'd want to see is to give the north back to the First Nations...

...and pull out all the resource extraction industries.

Somehow I don't imagine that's what Harper has in mind, though.