The Quebec Liberal Party and evolving federalism: (Re)actions to the constitutional question in post-1995 Quebec politics
This paper examines the ideological positioning of the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) with respect to the constitutional question and Quebec’s place in the Canadian federation since 1995. Through a qualitative content analysis of various primary sources, we argue that there has been a process of ideological realignment in the QLP insofar as the party has become more and more inspired by the theory of evolving federalism. This ideological realignment is taking shape in three phases that are marked by high points in 1996, 2001 and 2017. Taking evolving federalism and the concept of flexibility as its normative source, this ideology is characterized by a preference for paraconstitutional approaches to promoting administrative arrangements and intergovernmental diplomacy.