Representations of interculturalism in the Quebec National Assembly
Interculturalism has yet to be formalized through a binding law or public policy. In that context, how do Quebec’s parliamentarians—and the stakeholders with whom they interact—represent it in their exchanges at the National Assembly? This article seeks to answer this question by conducting a qualitative and systematic critical content analysis of the exchanges on interculturalism in the Quebec National Assembly from the emergence of this notion in 1987 (33rd legislature) to the portion of the 42nd legislature (2018−) that precedes the adjournment of the proceedings in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By showing the existence of two main discourse coalitions, one characterized as liberal-pluralist and the other as republican-monist, this article analyzes the parliamentary debates by underscoring how the actors involved in these two approaches are representative of the foundations of the Quebec model of diversity management and by illustrating the presumed objectives of this model and the relationship it proposes between the majority culture and ethnocultural minorities.