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The True North Strong and Free Healthcare? Nationalism and Attitudes Towards Private Healthcare Options in Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2014

Yannick Dufresne ,
Sanjay Jeram  and
Alexandre Pelletier
Yannick Dufresne
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Sanjay Jeram
Affiliation:
Brock University
Alexandre Pelletier
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Abstract

This article endeavours to explain why English Canadians and Quebeckers differ in their opinions about private healthcare options. Data indicates that respondents in the nine predominantly English-speaking provinces are more likely to oppose private hospitals than Quebeckers. No one province or region in “English Canada” drives these results: aversion to private hospitals is consistent across the nine provinces. Research on welfare states slots Canada into the “liberal” category, which is indicative of a preference for market solutions to welfare problems, which makes this finding perplexing. The argument presented here is that universal healthcare has become bound up with the national identity of English Canada, resulting in a general aversion to private healthcare initiatives outside of Quebec.

Résumé

Cet article s'intéresse aux divergences d'opinions entre les Québécois et les autres Canadiens par rapport à la privatisation des soins de santé au Canada. Les sondages d'opinion indiquent de manière claire que les citoyens des neuf provinces à majorité anglophone du Canada s'opposent dans une plus large proportion que les Québécois à la présence d'hôpitaux privés. Ces résultats ne sont pas biaisés par aucune province particulière du « Canada anglais » : une majorité de citoyens s'oppose aux hôpitaux privés dans chacune des neuf provinces. Ces résultats surprennent, puisque la recherche sur l'État providence classifie le Canada comme un État « libéral » privilégiant les solutions de marché comme moyen de gestion des programmes sociaux. L'argument présenté au sein du présent article soutient que le système de santé universel est devenu un symbole de l'identité nationale du Canada anglais, entraînant une aversion générale pour les initiatives de privatisation des soins de santé à l'extérieur du Québec.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 47 , Issue 3 , September 2014 , pp. 569 - 595
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2014 

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