Is The "Québec Model" Still a Thing? Social Inequalities and Class Analysis in The 21st Century


Guillaume Durou, Université de l'Alberta

Inspired by the Scandinavian social democracy, the so-called Québec model emerged during the 60s and strongly changed the institutions and the society. This model was characterized by a strong intervention of the state and a fair redistribution of wealth among the population. Often perceived as a social innovation, Québec’s welfare state has fostered a better access to education and provided upward mobility for many individuals until today. However, with the reinforcement of neoliberal policies by the end of the previous century and, more specifically, after the economic debacle of 2007 from which massive austerity measures were taken across Western countries, the model slowly started to erode. More recently the post-pandemic recovery has revealed vast social inequalities such as the rental crisis, the difficult access to public health services and wage stagnation. Despite the lauded redistributive model, inequalities actually kept growing, leading to more social conflicts. This paper will focus on Québec’s social structure, class consciousness and inequalities combining censuses of 2016 and 2021 and data collected this year as part of the Great Canadian Class Study (GCCS). Our analyses will help us assess various class experiences and better understand the nature and persistence of socioeconomic boundaries that defines Québec today.

This paper will be presented at the following session: