Search for "1995 Quebec Referendum"

Held on 30 October 1995, the referendum on Québec sovereignty was settled by a narrow victory for the “No” camp — as had been the case in the 1980 referendum.

A Québec free to choose: report of the Constitutional Committee of the Québec Liberal Party (better known as the Allaire Report) was a party policy adopted in March 1991, then removed in August 1992. This policy proposed a vast decentralization of federal powers and significant autonomy for the Quebec state. Several aspects of this program, which could be characterized as “autonomist,” were reclaimed by the Action démocratique du Québec party, then by the Coalition Avenir Québec party.

The Reference re Secession of Quebec was a reference case of the Supreme Court of Canada. It came after the 1995 Quebec referendum. The Court was faced with the question of whether Quebec could decide on its own to secede from Canada.

The Québec referendum of 1980, on the Parti Québécois government’s plans for sovereignty-association, was held in fulfilment of a promise that the party had made to do so, during the 1976 election campaign that brought it to power. In this referendum, the government asked the people of Québec to give it a mandate to “negotiate a new constitutional agreement with the rest of Canada, based on the equality of nations.” When the votes were counted, nearly 60% of Quebecers had voted against this plan, and it was thereby rejected. If the “Yes” side had won, the results of the negotiations would have been submitted to a second referendum. The 1980 referendum was followed by constitutional negotiations that have left an indelible mark on the Canadian political scene.

In 1987, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney attempted to win Quebec’s consent to the revised Canadian Constitution. The result was the Meech Lake Accord. It was an agreement between the federaland provincial governments to amend (change) the Constitution. The Accord proposed strengthening provincial powersand declaring Quebec a “distinct society.” The Accord was never put into effect. Political support for it unravelled in 1990. Many Québécois saw the Accord’s failure in English Canada as a rejection of Quebec. Support for separatism soared in Quebec and led to the 1995 Quebec Referendum.

Separatism refers to the advocacy of separation or secession by a group or people from a larger political unit to which it belongs. In modern times, separatism has frequently been identified with a desire for freedom from perceived colonial oppression.

Joseph-Jacques Jean Chrétien, CC, PC, OM, QC, prime minister of Canada 1993–2003, lawyer, author, politician (born 11 January 1934 in Shawinigan, QC). Lawyer and longtime parliamentarian Jean Chrétien was Canada’s 20th prime minister. Early in his political career, Chrétien helped negotiate the patriation of the Canadian constitution as well as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As Prime Minister, he led the federal government to its first surplus in nearly 30 years. However, his administration also presided over a costly sponsorship program in Quebec that sparked one of the worst political scandals of modern times. His government committed Canadian forces to the Kosovo conflict (1999) and to the war in Afghanistan (beginning in 2002). Chrétien publicly refused to provide direct support for the subsequent American war in Iraq. The recipient of numerous honours and awards, he is involved in several international organizations dedicated to peace, democracy and other global concerns.

Opposition to Confederation has existed since a union of British North Americancolonies was first proposed in the late 1840s. In the eastern parts of the country, opponents generally feared that Confederation would strip power from the provincesand hand it to the federal government; or that it would lead to higher taxes and military conscription. Many of these opponents ultimately gave up and even served in the Canadian government. In the West, Indigenous peoples in the Red River Colonywere never asked if they wanted to join Confederation. Fearing for their culture and land rights under Canadian control, they mounted a five-month insurgency against the government. Many Quebec nationalistshave long sought to separate from Confederation, either through the extreme measures of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), or through referenda in 1980 and 1995.

The Constitution of Canada is the country’s governing legal framework. It defines the powers of the executive branches of government and of the legislatures at both the federaland provincial levels. Canada’s Constitution is not one legal document. It is a complex mix of statutes, orders, British and Canadian court decisions, and generally accepted practices known as constitutional conventions. The Constitution has been in constant evolution from colonial times to the present day. The story of the Constitution is the story of Canada itself. It reflects the shifting legal, social and politicalpressures facing Canadians, as well as their choices as a society.

Anne Dorval, actress, show host and dubbing artist (born 8 November 1960 in Rouyn-Noranda, QC). Known for her acting abilities and for her irresistible humour during public appearances, she has been in some thirty theatre plays, approximately twenty television series and made-for-television movies, and over ten feature films, including some produced by Xavier Dolan and for which she has won many performance awards. She has also lent her voice to dubbing for almost 80 characters in motion pictures and animated films.

The Quiet Revolution (Révolution tranquille) was a time of rapid change experienced in Québec during the 1960s. This vivid yet paradoxical description of the period was first used by an anonymous writer in The Globe and Mail.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry on Education in the Province of Quebec (1961-1964) had a major impact on the structure of the Quebecois school system. It recommended the adoption of new pedagogical methods as well as the creation of new structures, namely the Ministry of Education, comprehensive schools, CEGEPs (Collèges d’enseignement général et professionnel; General and professional teaching colleges) and the Université du Québec network.

En cours de traduction.

Longueuil, Quebec, population 239,700 (2016 census), 231,409 (2011 census). Longueuil’s history dates to the 17th century with the settling of French colonists. It is today an important suburb of Montreal and is connected to the island of Montreal by the Jacques Cartier bridge and the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel-bridge. Longueuil is criss-crossed by major expressways linking metropolitan Montreal to Québec city, the Eastern Townships and northern New York State. The municipality of Longueuil is its own entity within the Longueuil agglomeration which includes other nearby cities.

Longueuil is situated on the ancestral territory of the Kanyen’kehà:ka. The land remains unceded and is considered Indigenous territory.

The Front de libération des femmes du Québec (FLF) was a militant feminist organization that was active from 1969 to 1971. Even though it was around for such a short time, the FLF played an important role in the history of Quebec society. The FLF popularized a feminist analysis that linked the oppression of women with the Quebec nationalist cause. Its efforts led to the elimination of Quebec’s prohibition against women serving as jurors, as well as to government-funded daycare centres and accessible abortion services.

The province of Quebec is composed of three of Canada’s sevenphysiographic regions. These regions are the St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Canadian Shield and the Appalachian region. The St. Lawrence Lowlands is the most fertile and developed region. The majority of the population of Quebec lives here, mainly between Montreal and Quebec City. The Canadian Shield covers most of Quebec from approximately 80 km north of the St. Lawrence River valley up to the Ungava region. It is a vast region composed of thousands of lakes and thousands of square kilometres of forested area. On the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, between the Richelieu River and the Gaspé Peninsula, is the Quebec part of the Appalachian mountain chain which extends from Gaspé south to Alabama.

Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis, premier and attorney general of Quebec 1936–1939 and 1944–1959 (born 20 April 1890 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec; died 7 September 1959 in Schefferville).