The_Vault_Dweller said:
Speaking of which. Are the Quebecua any closer to attaining their own country or is it a pipe dream at this point? I remember studying it in my "Geography of the United States and Canada" course at college.
It's actually pretty funny.
In 1995 Quebec actually had a referendum (A province-wide vote) to decide it. There was also another one in 1980, but I wasn't alive at the time and so I don't know too much about it, but anyway, back to the 1995 one:
The Canadian Prime Minister at the time (Jean Chrétien) Told them that they could vote in Quebec, and then if that passed, the whole country would vote on it (Which would NEVER pass) and if that passed, they would become thier own country.
Here's the kicker: You'd think that the question would be something simple like "Do you want Quebec to separate?", but the actual question they put on the ballot was:
"Do you agree that Quebec should become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Quebec and of the agreement signed on June 12, 1995, Yes or No?"
So, by making a confusing and misleading question, they were effectively cheating, and they STILL lost by a close margin:
A Canadian record of 94% of registered voters voted in Quebec.
Yes: 49.42%
No: 50.58%
To answer your question, here's a quote from my
source:
"Over the course of the next few years support for sovereignty and for any sort of constitutional change declined markedly."
In the latest Canadian election, (for which I was two months too young to vote in by the way
) the power in party (Liberal party) lost seats because they are becoming a tad corrupt after over a decade in power.
When the rest of Canada shifts votes away from the Liberal Party, it goes to the Conservative Party. When Quebec votes shift from the Liberal Party, it goes to the Bloc Quebecois (The Quebec separatists party).
Results of the 2000 election:
LIB 40.8%
PC 12.2%
BLOC 10.7%
Alliance 25.5%
NDP 8.5%
IND 2.3%
Results of the 2004 election:
LIB 36.7%
CON 29.6%
BLOC 12.4%
NDP 15.7%
GRN 4.3%
IND 0.5%
LIB=Liberal Party
CON=Conservative Party, the PC and Alliance merged in 2003 to become this party
Alliance=Canadian Alliance, formerly known as the reform party
PC=Progressive conservative
BLOC=Bloc Quebecois
NDP=New Democratic Party
GRN=Green Party
IND=Independent
So the Bloc Quebecois gained seats in the last election, and they might bring up another referendum in the future if they get enough seats, but for now, it's DEFENITLY not going to happen.
Sources:
2004 Canadian election results
2000 Canadian election results
Politics canada site
