Quebec referendum of 1980
The Quebec referendum of 1980 was a significant political event that sought to gauge public support for a proposed form of sovereignty-association for Quebec. Emerging from the cultural and political shifts of the Quiet Revolution in the 1970s, the Parti Québécois (PQ) aimed to address the aspirations of the predominantly French-speaking population, which sought greater autonomy and recognition within Canada. Rather than pursuing outright independence, the PQ proposed a nuanced relationship where Quebec would have full jurisdiction over its own taxes, laws, and foreign policy while maintaining ties with Canada.
On May 20, 1980, Quebecers participated in the referendum, and the result was a decisive 59.6% vote against the proposed negotiations for sovereignty-association. This outcome revealed the deep divisions within Quebec society regarding national identity and governance. Despite the setback for the PQ and its supporters, Premier René Lévesque emphasized that the goal of sovereignty was not permanently abandoned, suggesting ongoing debates about Quebec's status in Canada. The referendum's aftermath highlighted enduring challenges for both Quebec nationalism and federal government policies, as subsequent political developments continued to reflect the complexities of addressing Quebecer aspirations within the larger Canadian framework.
Quebec referendum of 1980
The Event Quebec’s government asks voters if the province should seek independence from Canada
Date May 20, 1980
Place Quebec
The Quebec referendum of 1980 determined that a solid majority of Quebecers opposed independence from Canada. The vote did not resolve the sovereignist issue in Canadian politics, but it revealed a willingness on both sides of the political spectrum to work within the nation’s constitutional framework.
During the 1970’s, in the wake of what has been called la révolution tranquille (the quiet revolution), there was a significant rise in French Canadian nationalist sentiment. In Quebec, where over 80 percent of the population consisted of native French speakers, the Parti Québécois (PQ, or Québécois Party) assumed a prominent role in the province’s struggle against economic, political, and cultural inequities that decades of neglect had engendered. However, the question of whether or not Quebec should become sovereign, as the PQ leadership contended, remained a divisive political issue.
Not wishing to alienate moderate voters, the PQ government of Quebec shelved its plan to seek complete independence from Canada and proposed to negotiate with federal authorities the terms of a more nuanced form of sovereignty-association. The intent was to give Quebec full jurisdiction over its taxes, laws, and foreign policy, while retaining close economic and cultural ties with the Canadian federation. The purpose of the 1980 referendum was to see if voters supported that approach.
During the months prior to the referendum, leaders of the sovereignist camp sought to reassure the population that a positive vote would not be used to justify a unilateral declaration of independence and that the results of future negotiations would be presented to voters in the form of another referendum. Canada’s minister of justice, Jean Chrétien, and Claude Ryan, the leader of the provincial Liberal Party, coordinated the efforts of the federalist camp in its opposition to the sovereignist proposal. Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau also weighed in with a promise to work for constitutional reform at the federal level in the event that the referendum failed.
On May 20, 1980, Quebecers went to the urns in record numbers and voted by a majority of 59.6 percent (2,187,991 out of 3,673,842 valid ballots) not to pursue negotiations on sovereignty-association with the federal government. While this outcome left many of the PQ’s supporters profoundly disappointed, Premier René Lévesque remained confident that the sovereignist issue was not a closed chapter in Canadian politics. In a concession speech following the referendum, he announced before a crowd of fervent supporters, “À la prochaine fois” (until the next time).
Impact
Despite the defeat of Lévesque’s proposal, the issue of Québécois nationalism remained a problematic one for the federal government of Canada. Political opposition to the Constitution Act, 1982, and to the Meech Lake Accord of 1987 demonstrated how difficult it would be to reconcile Quebecer demands with national policies. In 1995, a similar referendum failed by a narrow margin.
Bibliography
Dickinson, John, and Brian Young. A Short History of Quebec. 3d ed. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003.
Jedwab, Jack, et al. À la prochaine? Une rétrospective des référendums québécois de 1980 et 1995. Montreal: Éditions Saint-Martin, 2000.
Robinson, Gertrude Joch. Constructing the Quebec Referendum. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.