News Release

Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute
New Research Publication
Examines Anti-military Sentiment and Canadian Defence Policy

For Immediate Release

March 29, 2005 - Calgary, Alberta - The Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI) released the first in a series of new research publications today. Two Solitudes: Quebecers' Attitudes Regarding Canadian Security and Defence Policy demonstrates it is no myth French and English-speaking Canadians think quite differently about major questions of Canadian foreign and defence policy. The French-English dichotomy is not the only ethnic, religious or linguistic division in Canada, but it remains fundamental.

"Historically, French-speaking Canadians had one mother country - Canada - while English Canadians had two - Canada and Great Britain - and were seen as trying to serve both. French Canadians had little or no sympathy from British Imperialism," reports Jean-Sebastien Rioux, Laval University, Fellow of the CDFAI and author of the paper. "Today, the United States has taken the place of Great Britain in the minds of many Francophone Quebecers."

The research paper points out Quebecers are more internationalist, more "dovish", more antipathetic to American global aspirations, less comfortable with globalization and much less inclined to sanction the use of Canadian troops abroad, except for humanitarian reasons.

Two Solitudes: Quebecer's Attitudes Regarding Canadian Security and Defence Policy is the first in a series of new research publications that will be published every quarter by the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute.

CDFAI is a Calgary-based "think tank" dedicated to academic research into issues of Canadian foreign and defence policies. CDFAI intends to circulate this research as widely as possible to policy-makers, community leaders, business leaders, academics, journalists and interested Canadians.

CDFAI is a federally approved charitable organization that sponsors a variety of projects and programs dedicated to Canada's foreign policy, military preparedness and national security. The full range of CDFAI activities can be reviewed on the CDFAI website www.cdfai.org.

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Media outside Quebec contact:
Janice Andersson:
External Relations Manager, CDFAI
(403)231-7677
jandersson@cdfai.org

Media within Quebec contact:
Jean-Sebastien Rioux
Laval University/ CDFAI Fellow
(418)656-5872
jean-sebastien.rioux@hei.ulaval.ca

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