The Quebec secession reference: The constitutionalization of Quebec secession

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to explain why the government of Canada decided to refer three questions related to whether or not the government of Quebec could unilaterally effect the secession of Quebec from Canada, to the Supreme Court for a judicial opinion in 1996. To do so, this thesis will address two important questions related to the objectives that the government of Canada had in initiating the Quebec Secession Reference. First, why did the government of Canada wait until 1996 to clarify how a province could be removed from the federation when there was a significant secessionist movement in Quebec in 1968, a secessionist government of Quebec in 1976, a referendum on the secession of Quebec from Canada in 1980, and another in 1995? Second, when the government of Canada did decide to establish a position on how Quebec could leave the federation, why did it use the Supreme Court of Canada to do so? (Abstract shortened by UMI.)