This article attempts to clarify the status of the state and future of nationalism in Quebecois society. It is a defense against those periodical reconsiderations of the legitimacy of the idea of a Quebecois nation, to the extent that it is often viewed as a threat to individual freedoms and, more particularly, the lot of ethnic communities. In this regard, six models of collective arrangements, one of which is favoured, are reviewed and critiqued. In addition, the future of nationalism is viewed in light of the important transitions under way in Quebecois culture over the past few decades, particularly the shift from a paradigm of survival to one of emergence, as well as the reconsideration of old European allegiances in favour of an insertion into Americanicity. This is followed by a plea for a renewed form of nationalism, plural and singular, having social content, and free of ethnicity. A final section provides a critical commentary on present nationalism, its postulates, its wagers, its stakes; it lays out the conditions that should allow the idea of the nation to be an effective framework for the development of a Quebecois society respectful of all its components.