The Quebec Referendum, 1995 By: Mohamed Abdul
On October 30th 1995, millions of Canadians tuned in to watch the final results of the second Quebec referendum. It would be the night that Canada stood silent. After the failure of the Meech Lake and the Charlottetown Accord, parti Quebecios government of Jacques Parizeau would launch the second referendum. As the final minutes started approaching, the winning side seemed to be clear, however, the difference between the votes for yes compared to no would only differ by one percent. The referendum of 1995 would ask the citizens of Quebec if they wished for the province to claim national sovereignty and become a separate state, but however, with the condition of a political and …show more content…
It too would finically benefit the province in the near future. Finally, it would be significant in preventing further challenges for the Aboriginals living in the province. The “no” vote would be the yes that many aboriginal people in the province wanted. At the time of the referendum, there were approximately 68,000 aboriginals, mainly consisting of Crees and the Inuit of Northern Quebec. The Crees stated that no annexation of them or their territory to an impendent Quebec should take place without their consent. They were not happy with the idea of Quebec separating from the rest of the country. The Crees felt that if Quebec got the chose to leave Canada, then they too got the choice to keep their territory within Canada. They strongly argued that a unilateral declaration of independence by the province would be a violation of fundamental principles of democracy, human rights and consent. On October 24th, 1995, the aboriginal group launched a separate referendum. The question asked, “Do you consent, as a people, that the government of Quebec separate the James Bay Cress and Cree traditional territory in the event of a yes vote in the Quebec Referendum”. The result of this referendum would be that 96.3% of Crees voted to stay in Canada. The Inuit would also hold a similar question, with 96% of Inuits wanting to keep connections with Canada.
On October 30th 1995, millions of Canadians tuned in to watch the final results of the second Quebec referendum. It would be the night that Canada stood silent. After the failure of the Meech Lake and the Charlottetown Accord, parti Quebecios government of Jacques Parizeau would launch the second referendum. As the final minutes started approaching, the winning side seemed to be clear, however, the difference between the votes for yes compared to no would only differ by one percent. The referendum of 1995 would ask the citizens of Quebec if they wished for the province to claim national sovereignty and become a separate state, but however, with the condition of a political and …show more content…
It too would finically benefit the province in the near future. Finally, it would be significant in preventing further challenges for the Aboriginals living in the province. The “no” vote would be the yes that many aboriginal people in the province wanted. At the time of the referendum, there were approximately 68,000 aboriginals, mainly consisting of Crees and the Inuit of Northern Quebec. The Crees stated that no annexation of them or their territory to an impendent Quebec should take place without their consent. They were not happy with the idea of Quebec separating from the rest of the country. The Crees felt that if Quebec got the chose to leave Canada, then they too got the choice to keep their territory within Canada. They strongly argued that a unilateral declaration of independence by the province would be a violation of fundamental principles of democracy, human rights and consent. On October 24th, 1995, the aboriginal group launched a separate referendum. The question asked, “Do you consent, as a people, that the government of Quebec separate the James Bay Cress and Cree traditional territory in the event of a yes vote in the Quebec Referendum”. The result of this referendum would be that 96.3% of Crees voted to stay in Canada. The Inuit would also hold a similar question, with 96% of Inuits wanting to keep connections with Canada.