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I've never quite understood why Canada doesn't let Quebec become independent. I think I'd support San Francisco, Portland and Seattle becoming independent.

We'd export a whole bunch of anti-Americans to another country.

I've never quite understood why Canada doesn't let Quebec become independent.

Because we are one country, bound together by remorseless history. Thirty years ago, more or less, the Trudeau-led Liberals initiated a process, a movement even, to expunge actual Canadian history, and replace it in the schools and media with a Potemkin village of a Canadian history, filled with struggling workers and women oppressed by the patriarchy, various other folk-marxist takes on life and let's not even approach the First Nations question.

I see I'm starting to slide into a rant, so I'll just say the politically correct Canadian Establishment party line is false ... faux - it's all BS in both official languages.

Canadian history is actually compelling, inspiring, and ... almost lost. Harper is proving to be a tough, smart leader. So there is hope!

On the independence of Quebec.

Might be a matter of geography. They sit right there between the Maritime Provinces and then Ontario. Of course if they drew a border line and cut us off, problems might arise.

I visualized a great railroad running parallel through the United States to circumvent this. Possible but who knows?

If they got independence and then their economy suffered, then the Quebec dollar would be worth 40 cents US funds About 50 cents Canadian funds . If the Quebecer paid twice as much for groceries and tobacco, the blood would run in the streets- the separatists. Just a little laugh here.

Those places you mentioned becoming independent from the USA, would end up crawling on their hands and knees to get back,five years later. Free speech there- nah.

I can just see it. LOL

Aside from Harper's marvelous defiance of Duceppe in particular & leftists in general, the most significant part of the article is its final 2 lines:

"And even though the mission is especially unpopular in Quebec, the Bloc's criticism also carries some political risk.

Perhaps their biggest challenge in the next election will be regaining the seats they lost to the Tories in the Quebec City region - which is home to the Valcartier military base, soldiers' families, and 2,000 troops who will be heading to Afghanistan next summer."

Make that 8 (!) Quebec City area seats (like Congressional Districts) which went straight from the Bloc to the Conservatives last January and a Military base which is home to The Royal 22nd Regiment: Canada's Fighting 'Van Doos'.

A lot of Canada, including Quebec, is somewhat like New York State in the sense that, once you get past the urban areas, there are plenty of decent, 'normal' folks to be found.
The Greater Montreal Area Montreal with less than 1/3 of the province's total population gives people an unduly negative impression of Quebec as a whole in much the same way those American cities you've named color general perceptions of the entire respective States in which they're located.