In the 1970s, Hydro-Québec declared in a publicity campaign “We Are Hydro-Québécois.” The slogan symbolized the intimate ties that had emerged between hydroelectric development in Northern Quebec and French Canadian national aspirations. Caroline Desbiens focuses on the first phase of the James Bay hydroelectric project to explore how this culture of hydroelectricity marginalized Aboriginal territories through the manipulation of Northern Quebec’s material landscape. She concludes that truly sustainable resource development will depend on all actors bringing an awareness of their cultural histories and visions of nature, North, and nation to the negotiating table.

Caroline Desbiens' profile page

• Short-listed, Canada Prize in the Social Sciences, Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Caroline Desbiens is a professor of geography at Laval University. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Historical Geography of the North.

Caroline Desbiens explores the nexus of hydroelectricity, Québécois identity, and the cultural narratives that are used by southern Québécois to justify resource development in the northern regions of the province. The result is a wonderfully personal and critical reflection on the culture of hydroelectricity in Québec and “the importance of reading economic development through a cultural lens.” [It] is an excellent new contribution to the Nature|History|Society series from UBC Press. It connects beautifully with the other books in the series and will compliment work on the ways in which people conceptualize and transform the north through material, and particularly discursive, formations.

Journal of Polar Record