The right to secede in Canada: a comprehensive legal framework and an unsolved political issue

Abstract

Canada is the only country in the world that has recognized the right to secession from the Federation. This paper discusses how that right has come to be recognized. The road has been long and complex. As long and complex as the real and effective implementation of the right that, under no circumstances, can be unilateral. While the Federalists enacted the Clarity Act, Québec nationalists in response to it, passed an Act respecting the exercise of the fundamental rights and prerogatives of the Québec people and the Québec State. In short, Canada has adopted a comprehensive legal framework, but still does not solve the political issue of nationalism.