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August 20

Canada Supreme Court Rules That Quebec Cannot Secede From Canada Without Government Approval (1998)


On August 20, 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Quebec could not secede from Canada without approval by the federal government. In particular, the Court unanimously stated in an advisory opinion, called Reference re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 S.C.R. 217, that Quebec could not vote by itself to allow the French-speaking province to legally separate from the rest of Canada. However, the Court did not say that Quebec could never secede from Canada under the Canadian Constitution.

In 1980, the political party, Parti Québécois, in the province of Quebec, Canada held a referendum and asked Quebec's voters if it should seek a mandate to secede from Canada and form a separate country. The referendum was defeated, but the idea for Quebec’s independence remained strong.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, attempts were made to amend the Canadian Constitution with the intent to allow Quebec to secede from Canada. However, these attempts failed. In 1994, Parti Québécois was again elected to Parliament and said it would cast another referendum to Quebec’s population to secede from Canada. This issue quickly gained national attention and the Cabinet of Canada asked the Canadian Supreme Court to give an advisory opinion on the legality of the proposed referendum.

On August 20, 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its advisory ruling, called Reference re Secession of Quebec, (1998) 2 S.C.R. 217, on four main questions posed to it regarding Quebec’s possible succession from Canada.

First, the Court ruled that Quebec could not unilaterally, i.e. on its own, secede from Canada without approval by the Canadian government. This was due in part because the Canadian Constitution does not provide for succession of member states from Canada. However, the Court said that if a “clear majority” of Quebec voted on a “clear question” to secede from Canada then the federal government would have a legal “duty to negotiate” such constitutional changes.

Further, the Court stated that international law does not specifically allow provinces to secede unilaterally from their “‘parent’ state." As such, the Court found no conflict between international and Canadian law on the question of whether Quebec could secede, so the Court did not answer this question.

Overall, Quebec was satisfied when the Court said that Quebec's status was more of a political issue than a legal issue. However, opponents of Quebec’s succession maintain that there is nothing in the Canadian Constitution that addresses secession of a province from Canada. Further, any secession would require an amendment to the Canadian Constitution.