The independence movement in Quebec has never been gone. It has only been slumbering. The secessionists within the Bloc Quebecois and Parti Quebecois have been biding their time and working to create the conditions for a successful independence referendum since 1995. Soft-separatists within other parties in Quebec have been doing the same.The separatist movement in Quebec is real and the supporters of it truly want to go. Many in the West have dismissed the movement by saying that Quebecers don’t really want to go. They think Quebec separatists want to use the threat of secession to squeeze more concessions from Canada. While politicians in Quebec certainly do shamelessly use the threat of secession for Quebec’s benefit, one is making a grave error if they think the threat isn’t real.I had the opportunity to meet with Bloc Quebecois members back in the late 1990s when I was leading the Alberta Independence Party of the time. It didn’t take long in speaking with them to realize they truly want a fully independent French speaking nation. Nothing less. They don’t care about the fiscal costs or challenges in leaving the federation. They just want out.The Parti Quebecois is poised to win a majority in the next provincial election. The third place party in the polls is Quebec Solidaire which also holds a separatist mandate. More than half of Quebecers support one separatist party or another. Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has now promised another referendum on independence will be held if his party takes power.If there is one thing separatists in Quebec learned in 1995 it’s that they can’t pull the trigger on another referendum until they are confident they will win it. A referendum loss sets back independence efforts by decades even if it is a narrow loss. (Some Western independence supporters pushing for a referendum in the West would be well served to keep that in mind.)If Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is promising a referendum, it means he is confident the independence side will win it. After decades of chasing non-French speakers from Quebec through oppressive policies coupled with antagonizing the rest of Canada to disrupt national unity, Quebec could finally have the winning conditions it has sought for an independence referendum.I remember watching the Quebec referendum from afar as a young Albertan in 1995. Politicians, personalities and legacy media all worked overtime in begging Quebec not to leave. Delegations crossed the country to wave flags in Quebec at rallies and let Quebecers know they didn’t want Quebec to go. It was an almost humiliating sort of grovelling at the feet of Quebecers to behold. It was successful though, as Quebecers chose to stay in Canada with a meagre one percent margin.As another Quebec referendum is looming, Canada is a different place. Legacy media doesn’t have a stranglehold on information anymore and Western provinces aren’t as solidly federalist as they used to be. The reaction to another referendum in Quebec can and should be much different.The West shouldn’t beg Quebec to stay. We should loudly come out and encourage them to leave. We can’t hold a referendum to kick Quebec out of confederation, but we sure can show enthusiasm for their departure.Canada is broken. It has been for a long time. The federation is slanted in favour of the Laurentian provinces and even then, Quebec wants to leave. The Charlottetown and Meech Lake Accords from 30 years ago failed to reform the constitution. The only way we can change the system is to tear a province free from it and Quebec is the best poised to do so.If a referendum on independence were to be held in Alberta or Saskatchewan today, the independence side would be lucky to garner 25% support. If the same referendum was held six months after Quebec voted to go, Western provinces would be out the door.Once one province separates, the deal is done. There is little sense staying within a federation that is no longer figuratively broken but has become literally broken. Provinces will work to break free and seek their own deals and destinies. This can be a positive evolution for Canada and it needs to be framed as such.Don’t decry Quebec’s efforts at independence. Celebrate and support them.Quebec is the linchpin and once it is pulled, Western independence will be soon to follow.Vive le Québec libre!
