Canada, Quebec and Alberta: Holding together and flying apart

Given the pressure of Quebec and Alberta separatism, it seems productive to organize a forum on centrifugal pressures facing Canada.
About this Event

In conjunction with Laurier’s Department of Political Science, LISPOP is co-sponsoring this year’s Policy Dialogue organized with the support of 4th-year and Master’s students in the department.  Although the US-Canada trade conflict has generated some momentum for national unity to resist US economic aggression, we are also witnessing not just one, but two, movements for increased provincial autonomy or even secession in Canada. In Quebec, the 2026 provincial election features a Parti Québécois that has led the polls for several years and has promised to hold a referendum on independence. At the same time, the government of Alberta has organized a referendum on 10 policies demanding increased provincial autonomy and acceded to public pressure for a historic vote that could start the process of Alberta seceding from Confederation.  

The Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy and the Department of Political Science are jointly organizing a public forum on Friday, November 13th, 2026 with three experts on public opinion and voting to shed light on what is going on.  

• Janet Brown, is the founder and CEO of Janet Brown Opinion Research, the leading public opinion research firm in the Province of Alberta. She is the leading authority on public opinion and elections in the province of Alberta. 

• Dr. Evelyne Brie is a professor of political science at the Université de Montréal with multiple peer reviewed publications examining Quebec and Canadian voting behaviour, with a focus on the nature of national identity in Quebec 

• Dr. Darrell Bricker is the CEO of Ipsos-Canada and the author of the recent book Breaking Point: the New Big Shifts Putting Canada at Risk 

What: Policy Dialogue with the Department of Political Science – Canada, Quebec and Alberta: Holding together and flying apart at the same time 

When: Friday, November 13th, 2026 – 10:00 a.m. 

Where: Senate and Board Chambers, Wilfrid Laurier University