Tom Mulcair: the PSPP plays the fear card

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Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was unusually somber as he gave his keynote speech at the end of his party’s convention on Sunday. He decided to take the darkest path imaginable to convince Quebecers that they should be afraid, very afraid, of Ottawa’s nefarious plans for Quebec.

It would not surprise anyone who has followed the sovereignty movement to hear one of its former leaders invoke the separatist trinity of Domination, Despair and Disappearance. It was a shock to hear such deeply depressing opinions expressed by the normally optimistic and positive St-Pierre Plamondon.

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One of the hallmarks of the PSPP has always been its freshness and optimism. He is the first PQ leader of a new generation. The Parizeaus, Marois and Lisées of the past used fear themes as currency. The PSPP has been insisting on the need for Quebec to become independent using positive arguments. Until last weekend.

I had a front row seat to one of his last in-depth interviews before the PQ convention at the LCN Le Bilan panel last Friday. My exceptional colleague Emanuelle Latraverse held a long question and answer session with the PSPP, towards the end of which she blurted out: “I don’t want a referendum.” I almost drowned.

The PSPP won its leadership contest by promising not to dilute its quest for sovereignty. He promised that there would be a referendum on sovereignty if he was elected. No ifs, ands, or buts. This has also become a defining aspect of the PSPP; he stands firm. In fact, he showed exceptional mettle when he refused to back down on the issue of taking an oath of allegiance to King Charles.

He went on to tell Latraverse that what he really wants is a country, and that a referendum is just a matter of mechanics (“histoire de mécanique”). If he hoped to have some room for maneuver on the referendum issue, he failed. On Sunday he was back on message, with dire warnings about what awaits Quebecers if they don’t secede from Canada.

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Successive Léger polls show that support for sovereignty is around 35 percent. This is consistent with internal Quebec government surveys that I was aware of early in my career. In no uncertain terms, there have never been more than about a third of Quebecers who were actually willing to secede from Canada.

In both the 1980 and 1995 referendums, the questions contained a word salad of conditions and negotiations. Since then there have been several other major referendums around the world and there is now expert consensus on what constitutes a clear question. None of them pass the test.

Sovereigntyists will point to the close vote in 1995 and the 40 percent in 1980 as evidence of much greater support. In 1980, many people expressed their strong attachment to Quebec and knew that another vote needed to be held before sovereignty. In 1995, the deep feeling of frustration after the failure of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown constitutional agreements led many to want to send a strong message.

Sovereignty tomorrow and total break with Canada? No way.

So why has the PSPP now decided to try to convince the caribou herd to join it and jump into the raging river?

His tirade against Canadian multiculturalism in both that interview and his speech at the convention appears to have been fueled by the recent visit of French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. His applause to Quebec’s discriminatory secularism law, Bill 21, appears to have formed a heady brew for the PSPP. He was throwing punches for the fences.

The story of Quebec is a story of strength, perseverance and, yes, survival. More than 400 years of it! Our collective memory includes two referendums that divided us and damaged our economy. The last thing our society needs is another.

Tom Mulcair, former leader of the federal NDP, was environment minister in Jean Charest’s Quebec Liberal government.

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