Twenty-four years ago today, more than 100,000 people flocked to Montreal for a huge demonstration in support of Canadian unity. Speaker after speaker entreated Quebec to reject sovereignty. Three days later, provincial voters decided to stay — by just over a single percentage point.
Separation has traditionally waxed and waned in Quebec, but there was something about 1995 that seemed to take the steam out of it for a long while. Maybe it was the ugly post-referendum comment by Parti Quebecois leader Jacques Parizeau, blaming "money and ethnic votes," that drove people away from both the man and his cause. (More proof that our mothers were right: If you haven't got something nice to say, don't say anything at all.)
Weirdly, today it's not Quebeckers agitating for separation after last Monday's election: It's Western Canada. Nearly all the seats in Alberta and Saskatchewan went for the Conservatives, even though Justin Trudeau approved that damn Trans Mountain pipeline (which got him in a lot of trouble with environmentalists). And those Tory voters still aren't satisfied.
"Last night’s election results showed the sense of frustration and alienation in Saskatchewan is now greater than it has been at any point in my lifetime," said the province's Tory premier. T-shirts with "Republic of Western Canada" on them have popped up online.
It's oddly reassuring to know that a country with only 10 provinces and territories has just as hard a time with e pluribus unum as a nation with 50 states. But we urge the Conservatives in Alberta and Saskatchewan to get a grip and dial back the divisive remarks. Remember what rancorous resentment did to Jacques Parizeau. We cats HISS.
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