It is not entirely incorrect to generalize that Quebec politicians will lean toward the interventionist, dirigiste, l’état c’est moi of its philosophy as is fashionable in France, and Albertans won’t. That wasn’t true in Laurier’s time, but it is in ours. And it is certainly true that bloated, interventionist governments attract charlatans, hucksters and crooks like moths to a flame. So if that’s the type of Quebec-bashing people want to engage in, I say bring it on. And if they aren’t always completely articulate about “how politics is done in Quebec” I think we might want to cut them a little slack. It is intellectually dishonest to simultaneously endorse Quebec’s “distinct society” as most progressive Anglos are inclined to do while making it taboo to discuss certain aspects of its distinctiveness.
Why isn't this guy writing for a major Canadian paper?
Also see Laurent at Polyscopique. If you want a crash course on contemporary Quebec politics, these are the guys to read.