Harper drops a political bombshell with plan to recognize Quebeckers 'a nation within Canada'

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper took the historic step Wednesday of recognizing Quebeckers as a nation within Canada, a move that won immediate support from the other federalist parties and thrust the country back into the divisive national unity debate.

Mr. Harper's dramatic intervention was explicitly addressed at a Bloc Québécois motion that was intended to underline rifts within the Liberal Party over Quebec's status in the week before its leadership convention.

The Bloc had planned to force MPs to take a stand Thursday by asking whether they believed Quebeckers to be a nation — without the words that expressed support for national unity.

But the Liberals and New Democrats rose to their feet to join the Conservatives in prolonged applause when Mr. Harper introduced a motion that “this House recognize that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada.”