Fireworks, celebrity concerts and nightly parties will all mark Quebec's 400th anniversary. But despite the celebratory spirit, the stormy politics surrounding the province's history loom over the events as the fronts of nationalist and separatist pride converge.

The main point of contention revolves around a differing perspective on the historical event that sparked the anniversary.

For many Quebecers, when Samuel de Champlain in 1608 landed in what would become Quebec City, he gave birth to a distinct nation -- a French people who would persevere and succeed in an English North America.

Federalists, on the other hand, see Champlain's arrival as the birth of a great Canadian state, one in which Quebec is simply a part.

"We think it's a national celebration, not just for the province of Quebec," said Jason Kenney, Canada's secretary of state for multiculturalism and Canadian identity.

"We're hoping more Canadians will go (to the 400 celebration events). People should get to know their own country better," he said in a recent interview with Canada AM. "We'd like to see a lot of Canadians heading to Quebec to see their own history and become better acquainted with it."

Event organizers for the most part have kept the tone of the events neutral, which has prompted one group to plan its own commemorative celebrations.

The group, named Commemoration Quebec 1608-2008, has planned a parallel celebration to remind Quebecers that July 3 is not just a day of government rhetoric.

"The 400th anniversary celebrations belong to the citizens of Quebec, not the government," it says on the group's French-language website.

Bringing back history

The group accused the official organizers of the party of leaving out the historical importance of the day in their planning and instead opting for events that will drive tourism and boost the economy.

Commemoration Quebec says its mission is to give Quebecers a better sense of what the celebration is all about.

"A common identity, history and culture are the essential parts of a personality that make a people," the group's website says. "In order (for the province) to remain attractive, this personality of French Quebec has to be clearly valued by making it clear it is at the root of the province's successful development over the past 400 years."

To help give Quebecers more of a historical perspective to the day, the group has posted essays on its website from well-known French commentators and has highlighted a few events in the city that will indeed celebrate the province's historical roots.

On the actual anniversary day, Commemoration Quebec is planning a day to celebrate the province's "true colours" with speeches and a concert.

Luck Mervil, an Haitian-Canadian actor and singer who is well known for his staunch support of Quebec independence, will headline the celebration. He will be joined by the likes of famed novelist Yves Beauchemin, popular performer Raymond Levesque and a number of other successful local celebrities.

The federal government dismissed rumours that sovereigntist protesters would try to disrupt the province's official celebratory events that day.

"Most Quebecers are very positive about what's going on with the 400th celebrations which has seen the federal government play a significant role," Kenney said.

"Even those with separatist tendencies are joining the celebration because while they may see it as the beginning of Quebec's history and we see it as the beginning of Canada's history, we all see it as a very important event."

The Conservative government has tried hard to tout the event as a day that will unify the country instead of divide it.

Kenney said one of the highlights of the event will be a synchronized ringing of bells in churches across the country at 11 a.m. to mark the time Champlain set foot in French Canada.

"About 4,000 churches agreed to take part in this national commemoration," he said.

However, on the government's website, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was quick to pay homage to the tenacity of French Canadians for keeping their "rich history" alive.

"The fact that French has survived in North America for four centuries is no accident of history," Harper says in a prepared statement. "If French continues to be spoken in Canada today, it is thanks to the courage, tenacity and creativity of generation upon generation of Francophones who brought their old-world values and hopes to the new world and helped them take root and grow."

But while the government and event organizers are being mindful of the politics involved in the celebrations, one historian says he doesn't believe it is at the forefront of the minds of the general public.

Tourism, not politics

Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said the organizers are doing a good job of highlighting the success of Quebec rather than its polarized politics.

"Organizers are not staying away from politics but rather they are in the politics of province building," he told CTV.ca. "What I see going on in Quebec is that people are celebrating 400 years but not in the context of a broader Canadian version.

Wiseman said people on both sides of the issue have become "exhausted" with the Quebec question and that therefore any opposition to the event will lack any real fervor.

Still, he said, Quebecers are conscious enough of the meaning of the day to deliberately not invite the Queen to attend any anniversary events whereas Her Majesty was a welcome addition to centenary celebrations in Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2005.

Michaelle Jean, Canada's Governor General and the Queen's representative, is also not playing a major role in the celebration.

The government has spent millions of dollars advertising the event across the country in an effort to boost tourism to the province. Wiseman said they are promoting Quebec as a part of Canada that is indeed distinct and different than other provinces but in a way that has more to do with culture than politics.

"I've seen a lot of ads for Quebec City but not a lot of political discussion on what Quebec at 400 means," he said.

Politics always at play

In a published essay, Canadian historian H.V. Nelles also notes the penchant for celebrity rather than politics in the celebration.

"In these contested times, when the fate of Confederation remains in doubt, history itself has been totally dispensed with," he writes. "Only pure entertainment will suffice to bring opposing factions together in Quebec and tourists to the city from the rest of Canada and abroad.

Nelles, who wrote a book about Quebec's 300th anniversary in 1908, said the tercentenary celebration was a lot more historical than what is planned this time around. However, he said the event was just as much of a public spectacle and theatrical performance as this year's celebration will likely be.

Politics was always at play, he said.

"Then, as now, there were those who wanted to conflate the founding of Quebec with the birth of Canada," he said. "Controversy raged over who should be in charge and what should be celebrated. Indecisiveness, conflicting political agendas and confusion hampered planning and everything had to be improvised at the last minute."

Nonetheless, when the party was over and the decorations came down, the Tercentenary celebrations were quickly forgotten, he said.

This year should be no different, he said.

"At a time when history itself has been shuffled into the shadows, a source of shame and embarrassment (if not boredom) to many, it can be overlooked with relief," he continues. "Better to celebrate celebrity, Quebec's abundant talent, the play of light...and the return of federal sponsorship."