The Quebec legislature unanimously proclaimed the province a nation Thursday, one day after the House of Commons defeated a similar vote.

"The motion contradicts nothing in the fact that you can be a Quebecer and a Canadian," Premier Jean Charest said after the legislature passed the vote 102-0.

While Parti Quebecois house leader Andre Boisclair called the unanimous result "historic," the question of Quebec nationhood comes up occasionally in the province and legislature.

Action democratique du Quebec Leader Mario Dumont said the motion means nothing.

"This reaffirms something that is evident to most people," Dumont said. "It's something that comes up pretty often in the national assembly. It's agreed by all parties in Quebec."

The declaration of Quebec nationhood was also part of a motion defeated in Parliament in Ottawa Wednesday. That motion was turned down 168-38.

Charest and Dumont noted that the federal motion, introduced by the Bloc Quebecois, was weighed down with extra references to the social union agreement of 1999 and to provinces' choice to opt out of social programs.

"It became a game," Dumont said, pointing out that the Bloc move came just before a party gathering and around the anniversary of the 1995 sovereignty referendum.

The question of whether Quebec is a nation is often accompanied by debates about the true meaning of the word.

While the word nation generally refers to a community of people with common roots, language and territory, the definition can be extended to include statehood.

"For us, it's an inclusive statement," Charest said. "It includes every citizen of Quebec. For us, it's good to speak to this value."

Yves Rocheleau, the Bloc MP who proposed the federal motion, declared he is not a Canadian in the House of Commons Thursday.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien suggested the MP was Canadian enough to collect his federal paycheque.