Should Quebec have its own sports teams?

An organization called the Fondation Équipe-Québec is advocating for separate teams to represent the province at athletic competitions. But critics are saying this is a divisive move that would politicize sports.

The gold medal victory for mogul champion Justine Dufour-Lapointe at the Sochi Winter Games was a point of pride for many Canadians. And while Ms. Dufour-Lapointe is from Quebec, she made it clear her allegiance was with Canada:

I love the colour of our country. I love the way that we are all different in the same way, but we are able to unite together as a country.Justine Dufour-Lapointe

Justine might enjoy sporting a red maple leaf, but if a new Quebec organization gets its way, Team Canada could own the podium a whole lot less at future international sporting events.

Athletes from Quebec took home the majority of Canada's individual medals from Sochi. And now, the Fondation Équipe-Québec wants to see the province represented by its own team at sporting competitions, just like the non-sovereign nations of Scotland and Greenland.

Robert Sirois is a former professional hockey player and the General Manager of Fondation Équipe-Québec.

We are the only non-soverign nation on the planet earth who does not have their own teams.Robert Sirois

Janice Foresyth is the Director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at The University of Western Ontario. She shared her thoughts on the idea:

It's not realistic because in the mid-1990s the IOC changed the Olympic charter, which governs international sport, to state explicitly that nation states must be independent, and must be recognized by the international community in order to have membership in the Olympic games.Janice Foresyth

The idea to separate Quebec's athletes from Team Canada has not yet captured much attention outside la belle province. But already, Olympian Mark Tewkesbury is not a fan. The author and gold medal swimmer was Canada's Chef de Mission for the London Olympics in 2012.

When you start to say that Quebec is going to start hosting other countries...we're kind of apples and oranges. You're a province hosting nations, and that's to me that's the fundamental flaw of this entire equationMark Tewkesbury

Julie Labonte is a shotputter from St-Georges-de-Beauce, Quebec. She competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

I think it would be a great opportunity for the Quebecois and Quebecoise to be on the international stage. Not that I like the fact to be separated, because I like Team Canada...but I think that for me it would just give more opportunities for future generations.Julie Labonte

Do you like the idea of athletes representing Quebec at international sporting events?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Cynthia Vukets and Josh Bloch.