Two Nations in Search of a State: Canada's Ambivalent Spatial Identities

A nation's spatial identity represents the land that it perceives as vital to its integrity. This paper argues that relations between groups within multinational states depend on how well the separate spatial identities of constituent groups are coordinated. Multinational states that enjoy complementary spatial identities have fewer potential areas of conflict whereas states with conflicting spatial identities have more difficulty in retaining legitimacy. Using Canada as an example, I demonstrate how French-Canadian and English-Canadian spatial identities have evolved towards less complementarity over the years, with French-Canadian identity focused more exclusively on the province of Quebec and English-Canadian focused on the entire extent of the Canadian state including Quebec. These divergent conceptions have created an impasse that has hampered Canada's efforts to pass a new constitution and endangered the stability of the relations between French and English Canada.