The tide is turning. Although I believe the Northern Quebec First Nations people would drive a hard bargain with Quebec, they would eventually support it (for a price -- i.e. a piece of the energy price). The transmission lines would travel through a sovereign Quebec to the United States anyway.
Besides -- I am guessing that I would be able to maintain my Quebec citizenship :b
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54% in Quebec back sovereignty
By RHÉAL SÉGUIN
Globe and Mail
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 Updated at 6:22 AM EST
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Quebec — Support for sovereignty in Quebec has broken through the 50-per-cent barrier to its highest level since 1998 amid growing controversy over the sponsorship scandal. A new poll shows 54 per cent of decided voters would support sovereignty in a referendum that offered an economic and political partnership with the rest of Canada -- the same question asked in the Oct. 30, 1995, referendum.
Polls over the past year asking similar questions showed support of between 44 and 49 per cent for sovereignty.
The survey, conducted by Léger Marketing for The Globe and Mail and Le Devoir, comes as a new controversy erupted in Quebec after Michel Robert, the province's Chief Justice, said separatists should not be appointed to the bench.
The last time support for sovereignty was this high was in October, 1998, the pollsters say. Quebec was then weeks away from a provincial election, which was won by Lucien Bouchard of the Parti Québécois.
This survey, conducted April 21 to 24, shows 76 per cent of voters felt betrayed by the actions of the former prime minister and the Liberal Party of Canada after the 1995 referendum on sovereignty.
That opinion was shared by a majority of federalists regardless of their political allegiance, according to the poll.
"The sponsorship program, which contributed to undermining support for sovereignty between 1997 and 2002, is now having the opposite effect," said pollster Jean-Marc Léger. "In fact it is helping rebuild the sovereignty movement."
The survey found 37 per cent of respondents said the scandal and the allegations at the Gomery Commission motivated their decision to support sovereignty. Even among those who described themselves as federalist, 13 per cent said the inquiry would motivate them to vote for sovereignty.
Almost half -- 49 per cent of voters -- believe that Quebec will one day become a sovereign country while 41 per cent said it won't and 10 per cent said they didn't know.
And 49 per cent expressed a desire to have another referendum, while 46 per cent said they were against it. The remaining 5 per cent were undecided.
"People are no longer reluctant to want to vote in a referendum. The winning conditions are beginning to take shape if English Canada does not act quickly," Mr. Léger said.
However, support for sovereignty appears to be more a reflection of Quebeckers' anger toward the federal government than a deep-seated desire to achieve political independence.
When asked if by voting for sovereignty they still wanted Quebec to continue to be a part of Canada, 56 per cent of respondents said yes and 40 per cent responded no, with 4 per cent undecided.
Renewed federalism remained the preferred option for a sizable portion of the population, according to the poll, but voters are still deeply divided over the issue.
When asked if they believed in the possibility of renewed federalism in which Quebec would have its "rightful place in Canada," about 48 per cent expressed confidence it could happen; 45 per cent said no and 8 per cent refused to answer or didn't know.
"What this poll really says is that Canada still remains the first choice of a majority of Quebeckers. But if there is no offer of renewed federalism, Quebeckers are prepared to go to the extreme and vote for sovereignty. In other words they will choose sovereignty by default," Mr. Léger said.
The Bloc Québécois appears poised to capitalize on the backlash against the federal Liberals. The poll says it now leads by 31 percentage points.
After distribution of the undecided voters in a proportion equal to the expressed voting intentions, 53 per cent said they would vote for the Bloc, 22 per cent for the Liberals, 12 per cent for the Conservatives, 9 per cent for the NDP and 3 per cent for other parties.
"If the Bloc surpasses the crucial 50-per-cent mark in the next election, it could have a considerable impact on the PQ vote and on a potential referendum on sovereignty," Mr. Léger said.
Léger Marketing, which during the 1995 referendum accurately predicted the final tally in which federalists won with 50.6 per cent of the vote, conducted interviews with 1,008 eligible voters throughout Quebec. The poll is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out 20.
