Political control over planning in Québec.

The situation of Québec has always been considered unique amongst the 10 Canadian provinces and in the case of regional and urban planning there is no exception to this rule. Thus, in 1979, Québec was the last province to adopt a planning law after 20 years of previous attempts. Québec is often portrayed as a special case. It is too easy to explain the situation in Québec by making reference to its particular cultural context, to the detriment of other equally important factors such as the historical context, class relationships and political control over planning. The paper emphasizes on specific conditions within which social relationships are established and to underline the ongoing dialectic which brings together national and international trends, on the one hand and on the other, the internal dynamics of a society, the aim being to set out the conditions within which social practices and policies occur. Changes in Québec society from 1950-60 occurred within narrow limits circumscribed by the state. Following a Keynasian approach, the central state took responsibility for economic development and division of powers of intervention amongst institutions involving sharing out of spheres of influence between local and national factions of the bourgeoisie. Urban planning did not escape this trend leading to a vertical distribution of government responsibilities.