Quebec · History
Independence timeline
From the Conquest to today: the key dates of Quebec’s long road toward independence.
New France and Conquest
- 1759
13 September 1759
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
General Wolfe’s British troops defeat Montcalm’s army outside Quebec City. The 1763 Treaty of Paris formalizes the cession of New France to Great Britain.
- 1774
1774
Quebec Act
London restores French civil law and recognizes freedom of Catholic worship in the Province of Quebec.
British rule and federation
- 1791
1791
Constitutional Act
The colony is split into Lower Canada and Upper Canada. Lower Canada gets an elected assembly with a French-Canadian majority.
- 1837
1837
Patriote Rebellions (1837–1838)
The Patriotes, led notably by Louis-Joseph Papineau, demand responsible government. After their defeat, twelve Patriotes are hanged and 58 are deported to Australia.
- 1840
1840
Act of Union
Following the Durham Report, which advocated the assimilation of French Canadians, Lower and Upper Canada are merged into a single province.
- 1867
1 July 1867
Canadian Confederation
The British North America Act creates Canada. Quebec becomes one of the four founding provinces.
Quiet Revolution
- 1960
22 June 1960
Start of the Quiet Revolution
Election of Jean Lesage’s Liberal government. The Quebec state modernizes: education, health care, nationalization of electricity.
- 1960
10 September 1960
Founding of the RIN
The Rassemblement pour l’indépendance nationale is founded, the first significant political movement openly calling for independence.
- 1967
24 July 1967
“Vive le Québec libre!”
From the balcony of Montreal City Hall, French president Charles de Gaulle utters the words heard around the world.
- 1968
14 October 1968
Founding of the Parti Québécois
René Lévesque founds the Parti Québécois through the merger of the Mouvement souveraineté-association and the Ralliement national. The RIN dissolves and urges its members to join.
- 1970
16 October 1970
October Crisis
After the FLQ kidnaps James Richard Cross and Pierre Laporte, Ottawa invokes the War Measures Act. Hundreds of people are arrested without warrant. Pierre Laporte is found dead on October 17.
The two referendums
- 1976
15 November 1976
The Parti Québécois takes power
René Lévesque becomes premier of Quebec.
- 1977
26 August 1977
Bill 101 — Charter of the French Language
Passed under Camille Laurin, the Charter makes French the official language of Quebec: work, commerce, signage, and French schooling for most immigrant children.
- 1980
20 May 1980
First referendum
Sovereignty-association is rejected: 59.56% No, 40.44% Yes. René Lévesque: “Until next time.”
- 1982
17 April 1982
Patriation of the Constitution
The Constitution Act, 1982 is proclaimed without Quebec’s consent, after the “night of the long knives” of November 1981. No Quebec government has signed it since.
- 1990
23 June 1990
Failure of the Meech Lake Accord
The accord, which would have recognized Quebec as a “distinct society,” dies without ratification by Manitoba and Newfoundland.
- 1991
15 June 1991
Founding of the Bloc Québécois
Lucien Bouchard founds a party in Ottawa dedicated to Quebec sovereignty. In 1993 the Bloc becomes the Official Opposition.
- 1992
26 October 1992
Charlottetown Accord rejected
Put to a country-wide referendum, the constitutional accord is rejected in Quebec and in Canada as a whole.
- 1995
30 October 1995
Second referendum
No wins narrowly: 50.58% to 49.42% for Yes, with 93.52% turnout. Margin: about 54,000 votes.
- 1998
20 August 1998
Reference re Secession of Quebec
The Supreme Court finds that unilateral secession is not permitted by law, but that a clear majority on a clear question would create a duty to negotiate.
Since 2000
- 2000
29 June 2000
Clarity Act
Ottawa gives itself the power to decide whether a referendum question and majority are “clear” before negotiating.
- 2000
7 December 2000
Bill 99
The National Assembly responds: the Quebec people may freely choose its political regime, and the winning option is the one that obtains 50% of valid votes plus one.
- 2006
27 November 2006
Québécois nation motion
The House of Commons recognizes that “the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada.”
- 2019
16 June 2019
Bill 21 on state secularism
Quebec bans the wearing of religious symbols by certain state employees in positions of authority, invoking the notwithstanding clause.
- 2022
1 June 2022
Bill 96 on the French language
The Charter of the French Language is strengthened; the law adds to the Quebec part of the Canadian Constitution that Quebecers form a nation whose only official language is French.
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