The 1980 referendum campaign: a shining Canadian moment

Given the turbulence in the world over the last four decades, of war, genocide, recession, and now, COVID-19, only the smallest of minds think Quebec and Canada would have been better off with a 'Oui' in 1980.

Former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau pictured delivering a speech during the 1980 referendum. The 'Non' campaign won because we weren’t afraid to show a passion for Canada to counter the fervour of the indépendentistes, and we found compromises between the positions of a wide variety of parties, writes Andrew Caddell. Photographs courtesy of the Library and Archives Canada/Robert Cooper

Opinion

BY ANDREW CADDELL

May 20, 2020

OTTAWA—Forty years ago today, I was standing in the Verdun Auditorium in south-centre Montreal, when a woman said to me in French, “This is proof we can be good Québécois and Canadians at the same time.” It was a key message of the tumultuous six weeks that led to the historic victory of t...

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