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Jack Jedwab: PQ dream of becoming a NATO member state is nothing but a fantasy

Even if an independent Quebec were able to join the alliance, its voice would not count for much

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In a recent speech in Montreal, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon insisted that independence would elevate Quebec onto the world stage — including, he argued, a place at NATO’s table. His claim rests on a seductive but flawed assumption: that merely having a seat in an international alliance translates into meaningful geopolitical influence. It does not.

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Nevertheless, Quebec separatists want their supporters to believe that Quebec’s global standing will be enhanced if it were to become an independent state. Plamondon even invoked Prime Minister Mark Carney’s observation that, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu” — suggesting that sovereignty would finally allow Quebec to sit among the great powers shaping international decisions, rather than having those decisions made for it.

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