Why is a sense of 'Canadian Unity,' along with a sense of Nationalism so important to the country of Canada?

Canada's situation is unique in the western world: it is a country formed by the union of two well-differentiated groups, the English-speaking descendants of the British colonists, and the French-speaking people of Quebec, descendants of the French colonists. Both groups, despite the passing of the years, have maintained their distinctive demographic conditions, preserving their language, customs and idiosyncrasy, but also respecting the characteristics of the other in peaceful coexistence.

However, these differences have generated some controversial questions in the past, regarding the autonomy and eventual independence of Quebec as an independent Francophone nation. Although these proposals have not prevailed, they have been a wake-up call to the Canadian government regarding the need to strengthen national unity, extolling differences as enriching, and reinforcing the points in common between both groups to achieve greater national union. Thus, since the 1970s, especially with the coming to power of Pierre Trudeau, the Canadian government has begun to carry out internal policies with this objective because, if no action is taken and Canadian unity is not fostered, these separatist tendencies could threaten Canada again in the future.

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