The Canadian Parliament has recognised Quebec as a nation within a united Canada after backing a controversial proposal.
The House of Commons, Parliament's elected chamber, voted 266-16 in favour of the motion, which the government said it saw as a way to head off pressure from French-speaking separatists who want to break away from Canada.
Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a statement in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa
But critics said the proposal could actually bolster the separatists, and the pro-independence Bloc Quebecois said it would use the change to demand extra powers, including Quebec's right to speak at international meetings.
Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper drafted the motion last week to include reference to a united Canada to head off a motion from a separatist party that would not have included any reference to Canada.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong resigned over the vote, claiming the separatists would use it to sow confusion.
Mr Chong's resignation does not threaten the government's survival, but it underlines political tensions over the status of Quebec, which has held two failed referendums over whether to break away from Canada.
Quebec already calls its legislature the Quebec National Assembly and calls Quebec City its national capital.
"It won't change anything in their day-to-day lives," Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, a leading Quebec legislator, insisted during parliamentary debate. "It won't give Quebecers more powers."