Québec’s International Policy

The world has changed drastically since Québec’s last international policy was published in 2017 and its International Vision was published in 2019. Like every government around the world, the gouvernement du Québec is facing new challenges. It needs to update its strategic understanding of its place in the world.

Throughout 2024, extensive consultations were held with the ministries and partner organizations involved in Québec’s international action, culminating in the creation of Québec’s new international policy.

This framework document will guide Québec’s international action. It is a policy based on the national interest that will advance Québec’s interests, particularly in the economic, political, security, cultural, and technological spheres.

In the 1960s, Québec was a pioneer in entering the international arena as a federated state thanks to the Gérin-Lajoie Doctrine, which remains the cornerstone of its international action to this day. Today, Québec needs to take stock of the changing global situation and, like other states, centre its international action on its national interest.

Diplomatic action based on Québec’s national interest means focusing on matters that affect:

• Quebecers’ prosperity
• Their cultural and linguistic development
• The protection and integrity of the State and the territory

The idea of “national interest” goes beyond Québec’s legislative jurisdiction to encompass all of these dimensions and more. It advances its national interest through international assertion: it engages with whomever it chooses, wherever its interests warrant, on any issue that concerns it. It builds on the Gérin-Lajoie Doctrine—which champions the external extension of its internal jurisdiction—by asserting itself in all matters related to its national interest.

As nations waver between protectionist withdrawal and a desire to restructure their partnerships, Québec cannot forget the assets it has at its disposal to advance its national interest. In particular, it can count on:

• A leading economy
• Natural, agri-food, and strategic resources
• Culture and creativity, which are critical assets
• The St. Lawrence Corridor
• An environment conducive to business opportunities

Québec is distinct from other federated states in that it has a ministry of international relations with some 30 government offices abroad and another six in Canada. Its objectives are therefore to:

• Influence Canada’s foreign policy
• Assert the Québec approach to international commitments
• Preserve momentum in the United States and step up action elsewhere in North America
• Advance trade in Europe
• Diversify trade in the Indo-Pacific
• Ramp up involvement in Africa and the Middle East
• Strengthen Québec’s multilateral presence
• Renew Québec’s commitment to international cooperation
• Keep Québec and North America safe

In the pursuit of its national interest, Québec hopes to further assert its identity on the world stage by actively promoting its language and culture, which, true to its values, are the foundation of its social model. To this end, it intends to:

• Promote the nation of Québec throughout the world
• Exercise proactive leadership within La Francophonie, particularly by:
  • Further participating in the Francophone economic ecosystem and diversifying trade
  • Promoting French as an international language and making French-language content easier to discover
• Mobilize scientific diplomacy
• Showcase Québec to the world through its culture, its urban and rural areas, its youth, and tourism opportunities