Régionalisation et conscience politique régionale: la communauté urbaine de Québec

Abstract

Regionalism and Political Consciousness of Local Leaders: The Quebec Urban CommunityThis study focuses on the experimentation of regional government in the province of Quebec. The creation of the Québec Urban Community (QUC) in December 1969 serves as a starting point to analyse the effects of regionalism on the interest and the will to participate of the local political and socio-economic leaders.Two attitudinal dimensions are studied because of their impact on the possibility of action and participation on the part of the municipalities to the decision-making process of the QUC: first the relative weight allocated to each municipality within the council, and secondly the changes to the municipal boundary lines which are considered necessary by the leaders. Significant correlations appear with the locality of residence of the leaders, their preferences as to the modes of urban development, their general attitude towards the QUC, and finally their subjective evaluation of the homogeneity of the local populations.