Had 27,145 voters checked YES instead of NO on Oct. 30, 1995, the government of Québec, led by Parti Québécois leader Jacques Parizeau, would have started on the road towards declaring Quebec an independent country. That’s how close we came from Canada breaking up after its relatively short history of 128 years. The source of Québécois dissatisfaction with the rest of the country was then what it always had been and is still today: the perception that most Canadians have little time for the province’s specific identity.

A lack of understanding and respect has been the source of regional discontent since the founding of the Canadian Confederation. It is at the root of Alberta’s frustration towards Ottawa and central Canada today, a resentment that may one day lead to an Albertan referendum

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