Quebec Referendums

The decisive moment in my novel Beneath the Plains of Abraham where the characters begin down the road to conflict is a referendum in Quebec on making the province a separate nation from Canada. My fictional referendum is the 3rd and final one in the story. But how did the first two turn out?

In 1976 popular Quebecker René Lévesque became the first separatist premier in Canadian history. His party platform was to make Quebec a country.

In 1980, knowing that he could not unilaterally rip the province from Canada, he designed a referendum based on asking the people to allow the government to proceed with negotiations on separation with the government of Canada. The result of the vote was 40% in favor and 60% opposed with an 86% turnout. Lévesque conceded defeat in the referendum, but he vowed to try it again: À la prochaine fois! (until next time). However his party was defeated in the next election.

After two failed attempts at bringing Quebec into the Canadian constitution both in 1987 and 1993 the people of Quebec brought back the Parti Québécois, the party of Lévesque, under Jacques Parizeau. Aided by a very popular federal leader, Lucien Bouchard, the province was subjected to another referendum and came within 2% of achieving a path to separation.

In Beneath the Plains of Abraham another charismatic personage takes the people of Quebec into a referendum.