The Politics of Territorialization: Regionalism, Localism and Other Isms … the Case of Montreal

ABSTRACT:

In a general context of state reforms, there is an emerging consensus on the strategic role of city-regions in the global economy. As it is the case in other city-regions, state-led regional reforms in Montreal are enmeshed in a series of clashes between the Left and the Right, the Provincial government and local municipalities, and the inner city and the suburbs. However, Montreal also presents an intriguing case of territorial struggles centered on cultural identities nested in multiple scales. Beyond the more recurrent arguments for and against consolidation, Montreal is also the theater of a struggle for linguistic rights. The use of territorial claims as a political strategy for influencing city-regional governance reforms and by the same token gaining more local autonomy to protect life in English in Montreal is explored as an indicator of the rescaling of claims for political autonomy.