What if Quebec Had Voted For Independence?

Quebec. A French state in an English world. Quebec has often wished to go its own way, and it almost did in 1995. But then they didnt. So what if they had voted to leave? Probably would have caused a lot of headaches.

Edited by: Martin Stamatov

[juliacoves]

Quebec seperating from Canada via a long diplomatic discussion without armed conflict would be a very Canadian thing to happen

[nightowlmystic]

Strange fact: when Charles de Gaulle visited Canada(Quebec)in the 1960s. He said how much he supported Quebec independence “Long live a free Quebec”(this was one of the earlier independence movement)caused a diplomatic incident and had to leave.

[Tuftorenix]

It's difficult to imagine Trudeau coming to power after Quebec leaving, the Liberal party won in part due to seats they picked up from a Quebec angry at the incumbent Conservative government. Without Quebec, the political center of gravity in the country would shift notably to the right.

[jml]

I feel like if Quebec independence went smoothly it could have larger ramifications outside of Canada. I think Scottish independence would have much more merit if Quebec was used as a successful example.

[simonr]

As a Quebecer im not offended about this video. I'm actually surprised this was an interesting subject outside our province. Thank you !

[VHS.]

Bérets and baguettes are french stereotypes, not québécois stereotypes. It's like representing Americans with a British stereotype.

[nin]

As a Quebecois myself. I can officially say that we do not wear berets or even care about croissants or bread. Those are french sterotypes

[MrduckReads]

As a guy raised in Quebec, boy was a shocked when I realized how the rest of Canada is so different, literal culture shock.

[solgerWhyIsThereAnAtItLooksBad]

Worth noting that the Catalonian referendum only had a 43% turnout, and the remaining percent would likely have voted to stay as much of that was protesting the referendum

Quebec’s, meanwhile, had the largest voting turnout in the provinces’ history

[FatherDraven]

Well, Spain didn't exactly ignore the Catalonian referendum. They declared it illegal and filed charges against the main people organizing it. They just had a kerfuffle over an amnesty deal for the people that have been in exile in Belgium over it since then.

[NathanSt-Louis-rz]

My Great-Grandma's cousin was one of Quebec's prime ministers that tried the first political independence in 1879

[fireironthesecond]

The problem with the Catalonia example is that referendum only had like 30% turnout which is how Spain was able to justify going “Nuh-uh”

[jjoblzq]

Ontarian with french Quebec heritage. My knowledge about the reasons why Quebec wanted to split off is a little skewed and incomplete but from what I've been told from family a lot of it had to do with unequal treatment due to the majority English speakers in government. For a long time many of the better paying jobs in Quebec were given to English speakers, even if the majority population only spoke french. And in Ontario the government tried to outright ban french education in 1912. There's probably a lot of influencing factors like religion and culture but the active attempts to suppress the usage of french for the longest time probably has something to do with it.

[acharat]

One thing that most of the world doesn't know is that the Constitution of Canada wasn't signed by Quebec in 1982. The Prime Ministers of all other provinces actually met behind Quebec Premier's back at the time and decided to ratify the document anyway. So the the idea that Canada would have to vote to allow Quebec to leave isn't really legitimate either.

[liefschneider]

14:08 I can assure you if the western provinces split off of Canada, there would be no way in hell they would want to join the USA instead. As politically charged as everything has been getting these days, it is typically a common relief to think at least it's not as bad as the USA.

[TheDolphinTuna]

Technically, Quebec is allowed to leave in Canadian law per the Secession Reference Supreme Court Case, but it can only happen after a good faith dialogue where no reasonable compromise can be reached. At least that’s what I remember the Court saying.

[romanwolfli]

After the 1995 referendum, the Parliament of Canada passed the Clarity Act which states that provinces do have the right to leave if the majority wants it.

[dragonflable]

Fun fact: technically, Quebec is not part of Canada as they haven’t signed the constitution. Every province agreed on the terms on the constitution, but the other provinces had a second meeting without Quebec during the night and changed the terms without the knowledge of Quebec. Double-crossed and betrayed, Quebec refused to sign. This event was called “the night of long knives”

[raphaellapointe]

9:00 I think whether or not the countries of the world would have recognized Quebec would have been mostly dependent on whether Canada recognized Quebec. If the country the minority secedes from is okay with it, they would most likely go "Sure, why not, but don't expect me to do the same!"

Also, Jacques Parizeau had secretly made a deal with France that if the referendum passed, France would immediately recognize Quebec, so that's that.

[thekiller]

My alternate history scenarios for future ideas
1. What if Andrew Jackson lost the 1828 presidential election?
2. What if France won the Franco Prussian war?
3. What if The Troubles escalated?
4. What if the 1933 Business Plot succeeded?
5. What if the Sino-Soviet split escalated into a war?
6. What if the Mexican American War never happened?
7. What if the 1993 World Trade C€enter b0mbing succeeded?
8. What if John F Kennedy lost the 1960 presidential election?
9. What if the Spartacist uprising succeeded?
10. What if the Mexican Revolution never happened?