Non to Separatism

"This will be the most important election in Canada's history," declared Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa. Hyperbole aside, last week's Quebec elections did involve something less parochial than the issues that normally dominate the politics of provincial Canada. At stake: whether Quebec would remain in the Canadian confederation or opt out.

When the returns were in, Bourassa's Liberal Party had buried the separatist opposition, winning 102 out of 110 seats in the assembly. Despite the landslide, the separatist Parti Quebecois did score a victory of sorts. By winning six seats, it became the official opposition in the assembly and gained about 30% of the total popular vote.

Secession from predominantly English-speaking Canada--or separatism--has been an issue in Quebec for more than two centuries. But only in the past decade has it emerged as a potent political force. In the 1970 election, the pequistes (for the initials P.Q. in Parti Quebecois) won 23.7% of the vote and seven seats in the assembly. In 1970 a separatist terror organization called the Front de Liberation du Quebec (F.L.Q.) kidnaped the British trade commissioner and murdered Pierre Laporte, the Liberal Party's Labor Minister. Ottawa's response was blunt: it imposed near martial law under the War Measures Act, and the Montreal streets were patrolled by helmeted troops.

Although the F.L.Q. violence diminished after the government crackdown, separatism--and the problems that gave it birth--remained. Many French-speaking Quebeckers still saw themselves as what Separatist Theoretician Pierre Vallieres acidly calls "the white niggers of Canada." They are still paid less than English-speaking Canadians, in a province whose economy is controlled by English interests.

Since 1968, the Parti Quebecois has been led by Rene Levesque, 51, a brilliant journalist who left the Liberals because of their strong support of federalism. Although the pequistes enlisted an impressive array of French-Canadian intellectuals as assembly candidates, the momentum of the campaign gradually swung to the Liberals, whose slogan, Bourassa construit (Bourassa builds), was a not too veiled hint that Levesque destroys.

Sigh of Relief. Separatism, warned Bourassa, would force Quebec to create a new currency, which would immediately lose value in relation to the Canadian dollar. This was the single most devastating attack against the Parti Quebecois. The Liberals were also helped by their undeniably good economic record. In Bourassa's 3 1/2 years as Premier, his government had created a vast social welfare program--including free medical and dental care--without raising taxes. New industries were blossoming, and unemployment had dropped from 10% to less than 6%.

Outside Quebec, politicians, regardless of party affiliation, heaved a sigh of relief when returns indicated a resounding defeat for the Parti Quebecois. Said a satisfied Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who heads the national Liberal Party: "Quebeckers prefer Canada to separatism."

Shaken by the margin of their defeat--they had expected to win at least 20 seats--Parti Quebecois leaders last week locked themselves into a series of strategy meetings as they tried to determine where they can go from here. "There will always be a next time," said Levesque before a crowd of weeping party members on election night. But then he added morosely: "I don't know when and I don't know how."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.