La démocratisation de la finance au Québec : approches concurrentes, histoire contestée

Abstract

Based on a typology of three conceptions of the democratization of finance (ruptural, symbiotic, interstitial), this paper reinterprets the conflicts that shaped the history of Quebec’s public and cooperative financial institutions (PCFI) from 1960 until today. For each period, we evaluate reform projects and institutions that aimed to socialize finance, supplement the private financial sector to improve it from within, or create financial spaces outside of the logic of profit maximization. Often overlooked, union struggles and demands favouring the socialization of finance in Quebec help highlight the limits of PCFI associated notably with « solidarity finance ». This particular history of social conflicts over Quebec finance also offers resources to reimagine the democratization of finance in the Quebec context.

Keywords

• Quebec
• Finance
• democratizing finance
• socializing finance
• solidarity finance