Five things you may not know about the 1995 Quebec referendum

MONTREAL — The 1995 referendum on independence took place 30 years ago on Thursday, when a razor-thin majority of Quebecers voted to stay in Canada. After a dramatic campaign during which the sovereigntist side came from behind to take a lead in the polls in the final weeks before the vote, 50.58 per cent of voters chose “no.”

Here are five things you may not know — or may have forgotten — about the 1995 referendum.

Foreign influence

International leaders played a role in the federalist and sovereigntist campaigns. In February 1995, U.S. President Bill Clinton addressed the Canadian Parliament and signalled clearly that his administration favoured a united Canada.

“In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that literally tear nations apart, Canada has stood for all of us as a model of how people of different cultures can live and work together in peace, prosperity and respect,” he said.

In the days before the vote, Clinton told reporters that “a strong and united Canada has been a wonderful partner for the United States.”

But in a coup for the sovereigntist side, in the final days of the campaign, then-French president Jacques Chirac said on CNN’s Larry King Live that he would recognize a vote to separate.

Blunders

Figures on both sides of the campaign made inopportune comments they likely regretted. Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau, probably best remembered for blaming the referendum defeat on “money and ethnic votes,” also stirred up controversy months ahead of the vote. In June 1995, Parizeau reportedly told a group of foreign diplomats that once Quebecers voted “yes” to separation, they would then be trapped like “lobsters thrown into boiling water.”

Bloc Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard, after he became spokesperson for the “yes” campaign in mid-October, came under fire for remarking that Quebecers are “one of the white races that has the fewest children.”

But federalist businessman Claude Garcia did his side no favours when he declared in September that the goal of the “no” side should not just be to win the referendum, but to “crush” sovereigntists.

Illegal activity?

The federal government’s involvement in the “no” campaign, which was led by the provincial Liberals, prompted widespread allegations of illegal spending. In 2007, a retired Quebec judge published a report finding that two federalist organizations, which received millions of dollars in funding from Ottawa, illegally spent about $539,000.

The judge, Bernard Grenier, also urged Quebecers to turn the page and move forward, but many sovereigntists continue to express the view that the referendum was stolen. Grenier wrote in his report that he was unable to determine who funded the Oct. 27 unity rally that drew tens of thousands of Canadians to Montreal.

About that unity rally

The unity rally — part of a last-ditch effort by the federalist camp to persuade Quebecers to vote “no” — saw airlines, bus companies and Via Rail offer discounted tickets to get as many Canadians as possible to Montreal.

But no one could agree on how many people actually showed up. The New York Times reported that 150,000 people were present, while some French-language outlets pegged the number around 35,000.

In 2015, CBC interviewed the Windsor, Ont., man who brought a giant Canadian flag to the rally, which features prominently in many photos of the event. He said he and his friends brought it to Montreal in a hockey bag.

The day after

Then-prime minister Jean Chrétien has said he would not have accepted a “yes” vote to a referendum question considered unclear. The referendum ballot asked Quebecers for a mandate to “become sovereign” only after negotiating a new partnership with the rest of Canada.

In a recent interview with La Presse, Chrétien said he had “options” in the case of a “yes” victory, including holding a referendum of his own in the province that would simply have asked Quebecers if they wanted to separate.

However, a 2014 book by journalist Chantal Hébert and political commentator Jean Lapierre found that the federalist forces were unprepared for a vote in favour of separation. They also found that several major political figures thought Chrétien would resign or be forced out if the sovereigntist side won.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2025.

Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press