In 1995, a referendum on Quebec's independence from Canada was held, and the results were not good for the separatists in the rest of the country. This week, a new Prime Minister, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, has promised a referendum in Quebec if his party wins the next election.
00:00:00.000Now let's talk about Quebec separatism. Yes, it's coming up again. It's been in the news.
00:00:05.080And the independence movement in Quebec, I mean, it's never been gone. It's only been slumbering.
00:00:10.180And the secessionists within the Bloc Quebecois and Parti Quebecois, they've just been biding their time
00:00:15.020and working to create the conditions for a successful independence referendum since 1995.
00:00:20.720And you look at the other parties within Quebec, whether they're liberal or whatever they might be,
00:00:24.120ADQ, soft separatists within other parties in Quebec have been doing the same thing.
00:00:27.600They've been building the conditions for a successful referendum.
00:00:31.040The separatist movement in Quebec, it's real. And the supporters of it truly want to go.
00:00:34.980And I know I've talked to lots of people, many in the West, to dismiss the movement saying Quebecers don't really want to go.
00:00:40.420They think Quebec separatists just want to use the threat of secession to squeeze more concessions from Canada.
00:00:45.540And I'm sure a few are of that sort. And while politicians in Quebec certainly shamelessly use the threat of secession for Quebec's benefit,
00:00:53.000you're making a really grave error if you think that threat isn't real.
00:00:55.880I mean, I had the opportunity to meet with some Bloc Quebecois members back in the late 90s when I was leading the Alberta Independence Party at that time.
00:01:03.040And it didn't take long talking to them to realize, no, they really want a fully independent French-speaking nation and nothing less.
00:01:09.560They don't care about the fiscal costs or the challenges in leaving the federation they just want out.
00:01:15.040Now, the Parti Quebecois is poised to win a majority in the next provincial election in Quebec.
00:01:19.300The third place party in the polls is Quebec Solidaire, which is also a separatist party.
00:01:24.960So, I mean, more than half of Quebecers support one separatist party or another.
00:01:29.980The Parti Quebecois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has now promised another referendum on independence will be held if his party takes power.
00:01:37.180If there's one thing that the separatists of Quebec learned in 1995 is that they can't pull the trigger on another referendum until they're confident they're going to win it.
00:01:45.440A referendum loss sets back independence efforts by decades, even if it's on a narrow loss like last time.
00:01:51.160Some Western independent supporters pushing for a referendum in the West would be well served to keep that in mind, too.
00:01:55.280So, if Plamondon is promising a referendum, it means he's confident that the independent side will win it.
00:02:01.980After decades of chasing non-French speakers from Quebec through oppressive policies, coupled with antagonizing the rest of Canada to disrupt national unity,
00:02:10.660Quebec could finally have the winning conditions it sought for an independence referendum.
00:02:15.040I remember watching the Quebec referendum from afar, of course, as a young Albertan in 1995.
00:02:20.280Politicians, personalities, and legacy media all worked overtime in begging Quebec not to leave.
00:02:24.460Delegations crossed the country to wave flags in Quebec and at rallies and let Quebecers know,
00:02:30.360we didn't want them to go. We love you, Quebec. Stay with us.
00:02:32.860It was an almost humiliating sort of groveling at the feet of Quebecers.
00:02:36.740It was successful, though, as Quebecers chose to stay within Canada with a meager 1% margin.
00:02:42.580Now, as another Quebec referendum is looming, Canada's in a different place.
00:02:46.900Legacy media, they don't have that stranglehold on information anymore,
00:02:49.500and Western provinces aren't as solidly federalist as they used to be.
00:02:52.380The reaction to another referendum in Quebec can, and should, be much different.
00:02:57.120The West shouldn't beg Quebec to stay.
00:02:58.980We should loudly come out and encourage them to leave.
00:03:01.840We can't hold a referendum to kick Quebec out of a confederation,
00:03:05.020but we can certainly show enthusiasm for their departure.
00:03:08.500Canada's broken. It has been for a long time.
00:03:11.400The federation's slanted in favor of the Laurentian provinces,
00:03:14.320and even then, Quebec still wants to leave.
00:03:16.340The Charlatan and Meech Lake Accords from 30 years ago,
00:03:19.140they failed to change the constitution.
00:03:20.660The only way we can change this system is to tear a province free from it,
00:03:24.440and Quebec is right now the best poised to do so.
00:03:27.060If a referendum on independence was to be held in Alberta or Saskatchewan today,
00:03:30.960the independent side would be lucky to garner 25% support.
00:03:34.140If the same referendum was held six months after Quebec voted to go, though,
00:03:37.420I think Western provinces would be out the door.
00:03:40.180Once one province separates, the deal's done.
00:03:42.740There's little sense in staying within a federation that is no longer figuratively broken,