Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government will introduce a motion in Parliament asking lawmakers to recognize Quebec as a nation ``within a united Canada.''
Harper said he was prompted to put the motion forward after the Bloc Quebecois separatist party introduced a competing motion to recognize Quebec as a nation without mentioning Canada. Harper wants to shore up support in Quebec for his Conservative Party ahead of a federal election that could be held as early as next year.
``For the Bloc, it's not about Quebec as a nation, it's about separation,'' Harper said in Parliament today. ``The real question is: Do Quebecers form a nation within a united Canada? The answer is yes. Do Quebecers form an independent nation from Canada? The answer is no, and it will always be no.''
The issue flared up after Michael Ignatieff, a leadership candidate for the opposition Liberal Party, said he would recognize Quebec as a nation in Canada's constitution if elected prime minister. The Liberals will select a new leader at a convention next month.
Quebec, one of Canada's founding provinces when the country was created in 1867, is mostly French speaking. Separatist governments have held two referendums asking Quebecers if they wanted to split from the rest of Canada; both were defeated. Andre Boisclair, the leader of the province's opposition Parti Quebecois, has vowed to hold a referendum shortly after taking power if he is elected.
``It's incoherent: we are a nation within Canada, but if we become a country, we wouldn't be a nation anymore,'' Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe said after Harper's speech. ``Mr. Harper should recognize us for what we are. If he wants to defend his option after that, I'll respect it.''
The Conservatives, with 124 seats, are short of a majority in the 308-seat House of Commons. The Liberals hold 101 seats and the New Democratic Party hold 29 seats. The Bloc Quebecois has 50 legislators.
To contact the reporters on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Scanlan in Toronto at dscanlan@bloomberg.net.
The Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, announced at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday that he will recognize Quebecois as a nation within Canada, despite a similar Bloc Quebecois' motion.

The separatist Bloc Quebecois (BQ) opposition party originally introduced the motion to recognize Quebec as a nation, without specifying in or out of Canada. But Harper said that he will only recognize the Quebecois as a nation within Canada.




The Bloc, led by Gilles Duceppe is, by tradition, dedicated to separating Quebec completely from Canada. This has never passed.

"I would say we're devoted to this country with its boundless potential and dedicated to building Canada which includes Quebec while the Bloc is dedicated to destroying Canada," interim Liberal leader Bill Graham in response to Harper's speech. "We are fundamentally opposed to breaking up of Canada ... On this point we must clearly and fundamentally disagree and fundamentally fight for the rights of Canada and the whole of Canada."

Mr. Duceppe opposed the prime minister's position on Quebec.

"It isn't up to the prime minister to decide what Quebeckers will choose as an option," Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe said. "It's up to Quebeckers ... to decide what their future will be ...  not as long as they remain within Canada that is supposedly united. They are not a nation as long as they are a country ...Never will I accept the only condition to be a nation is to recognize the right to remain in Canada. We are what we are, full stop."

The Conservatives have ten elected MPs in the province.