New book brings us inside the 1995 Quebec referendum

Above: Political author Chantal Hebert talks about her new book “The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum and the Day that Almost Was.”

As the first week of Parliament winds down, focus will shift across the pond to Scotland where residents on Thursday will vote in a referendum deciding whether they become a nation independent of the United Kingdom.

No doubt Canada has a lot to offer in terms of experience on that front, where Quebec governments have twice lost their bid to separate from Canada.

Now, Canadians have a whole new understanding of what happened behind the scenes of the most recent vote, the 1995 Quebec referendum, thanks to a new book by Canadian columnist Chantal Hébert.

They all sought a ‘yes’ answer. But we discovered that the three of them did not have the same interpretation of a ‘yes.’

– Chantal Hebert

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: They all sought a 'yes' answer. But we discovered that the three of them did not have the same interpretation of a 'yes.'</p><p>- Chantal Hebert

While researching “The Morning After,” Hebert said she dug up a few surprises.

The author spoke with the three leaders involved in the separation movement: Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau, Bloc Quebecois MP Lucien Bouchard, and l’Action démocratique du Québec leader Mario Dumont.

READ MORE: What could change or stay the same following the Scottish referendum? 

The question on the 1995 ballot was convoluted, containing more than 30 words. In essence, however, all three leaders asked Quebecers the same questions: Do you want to separate from the rest of Canada?

“They all sought a ‘yes’ answer,” Hebert said in an interview on The West Block with Tom Clark. “But we discovered that the three of them did not have the same interpretation of a ‘yes.'”

For Bouchard, Hebert said, a ‘yes’ seemed to mean ‘maybe Quebec goes, or maybe renew federalism.

For Dumont, however, a ‘yes’ curiously meant ‘no.’ He seemed to see the opportunity as one where Quebec could use the vote as a bargaining chip in the nation’s subsequent struggle for federalism.

“And for Premier Jacques Parizeau, a ‘yes’ meant Quebec would become a country,” Hebert said.

“I found this a but troubling that the three people who had asked the question did not agree on the meaning of the answer.