Quebec Separatists Defeat: With a slim majority of 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent, Quebec residents chose to remain a province of Canada. French-speaking Quebec has long considered itself culturally separate from the rest of Canada. The referendum posed the most serious threat to Canadian unity in the country’s 128-year history, and threatened the possibility of reducing Canada’s population by nearly a third if the “Oui” vote prevailed. Quebec separatists responded peacefully to their defeat.
