The 1995 referendum on independence happened 30 years in the past on Thursday, when a razor-thin majority of Quebecers voted to remain in Canada. After a dramatic marketing campaign throughout which the sovereigntist aspect got here from behind to take a lead within the polls within the closing weeks earlier than the vote, 50.58 per cent of voters selected “no.”
Listed below are 5 issues it’s possible you’ll not know — or might have forgotten — concerning the 1995 referendum.
Sure and No supporters conflict on the streets of Montreal, Monday, Oct. 30, 1995, because the No aspect gained a slim victory within the province’s referendum.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Robert Galbraith
International affect
Worldwide leaders performed a job within the federalist and sovereigntist campaigns. In February 1995, U.S. President Invoice Clinton addressed the Canadian Parliament and signalled clearly that his administration favoured a united Canada.
“In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that actually tear nations aside, Canada has stood for all of us as a mannequin of how individuals of various cultures can dwell and work collectively in peace, prosperity and respect,” he stated.
Within the days earlier than the vote, Clinton informed reporters that “a powerful and united Canada has been a beautiful companion for the USA.”
However in a coup for the sovereigntist aspect, within the closing days of the marketing campaign, then-French president Jacques Chirac stated on CNN’s Larry King Stay that he would acknowledge a vote to separate.
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Blunders
Figures on either side of the marketing campaign made inopportune feedback they doubtless regretted. Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau, in all probability finest remembered for blaming the referendum defeat on “cash and ethnic votes,” additionally stirred up controversy months forward of the vote. In June 1995, Parizeau reportedly informed a bunch of overseas diplomats that after Quebecers voted “sure” to separation, they’d then be trapped like “lobsters thrown into boiling water.”
A big Canadian flag is handed by a crowd, as hundreds streamed into Montreal from throughout Canada on Friday, Oct. 27, 1995, to affix Quebecers rallying for nationwide unity, three days earlier than the Oct. 30, 1995, Quebec sovereignty referendum.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Bloc Québécois chief Lucien Bouchard, after he turned spokesperson for the “sure” marketing campaign in mid-October, got here below fireplace for remarking that Quebecers are “one of many white races that has the fewest youngsters.”
However federalist businessman Claude Garcia did his aspect no favours when he declared in September that the objective of the “no” aspect mustn’t simply be to win the referendum, however to “crush” sovereigntists.
Criminality?
The federal authorities’s involvement within the “no” marketing campaign, which was led by the provincial Liberals, prompted widespread allegations of unlawful spending. In 2007, a retired Quebec choose printed a report discovering that two federalist organizations, which acquired tens of millions of {dollars} in funding from Ottawa, illegally spent about $539,000.
The choose, Bernard Grenier, additionally urged Quebecers to show the web page and transfer ahead, however many sovereigntists proceed to specific the view that the referendum was stolen. Grenier wrote in his report that he was unable to find out who funded the Oct. 27 unity rally that drew tens of hundreds of Canadians to Montreal.
About that unity rally
The unity rally — a part of a last-ditch effort by the federalist camp to influence Quebecers to vote “no” — noticed airways, bus firms and By way of Rail supply discounted tickets to get as many Canadians as doable to Montreal.
However nobody might agree on how many individuals truly confirmed up. The New York Occasions reported that 150,000 individuals had been current, whereas some French-language retailers pegged the quantity round 35,000.
In 2015, CBC interviewed the Windsor, Ont., man who introduced a large Canadian flag to the rally, which options prominently in lots of photographs of the occasion. He stated he and his associates introduced it to Montreal in a hockey bag.
The day after
Then-prime minister Jean Chrétien has stated he wouldn’t have accepted a “sure” vote to a referendum query thought of unclear. The referendum poll requested Quebecers for a mandate to “change into sovereign” solely after negotiating a brand new partnership with the remainder of Canada.
In a latest interview with La Presse, Chrétien stated he had “choices” within the case of a “sure” victory, together with holding a referendum of his personal within the province that will merely have requested Quebecers in the event that they needed to separate.
Nonetheless, a 2014 e-book by journalist Chantal Hébert and political commentator Jean Lapierre discovered that the federalist forces had been unprepared for a vote in favour of separation. In addition they discovered that a number of main political figures thought Chrétien would resign or be compelled out if the sovereigntist aspect gained.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Oct. 30, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
