Five things you may not know about the 1995 Quebec referendum

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

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