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Jacques Parizeau
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==Elections, 1995 referendum and aftermath== In the [[1989 Quebec general election|1989 election]], Parizeau's first as PQ leader, his party did not fare well. But five years later, in the [[1994 Quebec general election|1994 election]], it won a majority government. Parizeau promised to hold a referendum on Quebec sovereignty within a year of his election, and despite many objections, he followed through on this promise. In the beginning, support for sovereignty was only about 40% in the public opinion polls. As the campaign wore on, however, support for the "Yes" side grew larger. This growth halted, however, and Parizeau came under pressure to hand more of the campaign over to the more moderate and conservative [[Lucien Bouchard]], the popular leader of the federal ''[[Bloc Québécois]]'' party. Parizeau agreed and as the campaign progressed he lost his leadership role to Bouchard.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=The 1995 Quebec referendum: Turning the 'Yes' tide |url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/the-1995-quebec-referendum-turning-the-yes-tide |date=October 30, 1995 |medium=Television |language=en |publisher=[[CBC Digital Archives]] |access-date=May 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602135642/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/the-1995-quebec-referendum-turning-the-yes-tide |archive-date=June 2, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[1995 Quebec referendum|1995 referendum]] he caused an uproar when it was reported by columnist [[Chantal Hébert]] in the ''[[La Presse (Canadian newspaper)|La Presse]]'' newspaper that despite the guarantee of an offer of partnership with the rest of Canada before declaring sovereignty following a "Yes" vote, Parizeau had told a group of foreign diplomats that what mattered most was to get a majority vote from Quebec citizens for the proposal to [[secede]] from Canada because with that, Quebecers would be in a "lobster pot," evidently indicating that like lobsters in a lobster trap, Quebecers would not be able to escape the consequences of a vote for independence once it was cast.<ref name=WilsonSmithFulton>{{cite news|last1=Wilson-Smith|first1=Anthony|last2=Fulton|first2=E. Kaye|title=Parizeau's Lobster Flap|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/parizeaus-lobster-flap/|access-date=July 13, 2015|work=[[Maclean's]]|date=July 24, 1995}}</ref> The "Yes" side would lose the referendum by 55,000 votes. In his concession speech, Parizeau said sovereignty had been defeated by "[[money and ethnic votes|l'argent pis des votes ethniques]]" ("money and ethnic votes"), and referred to the [[Francophones]] who voted Yes in the referendum as "''nous''" (us) when he said that this majority group was, for the first time, no longer afraid of political independence. Many suspected he may have been drinking.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/10/04/andrew-coyne-dont-be-fooled-the-parti-quebecois-has-never-been-inclusive/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140830121110/http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/10/04/andrew-coyne-dont-be-fooled-the-parti-quebecois-has-never-been-inclusive/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 30, 2014 |title=Andrew Coyne: Don't be fooled, the Parti Québécois has never been inclusive |author=Andrew Coyne |publisher=[[National Post]] |date=October 4, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/federal-politics/separation-anxiety-the-1995-quebec-referendum/money-and-the-ethnic-vote.html |title=Parizeau blames "money and the ethnic vote" for referendum loss |date=October 30, 1995 |medium=Television |language=en |publisher=CBC Digital Archives |access-date=June 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602141619/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/quebec-referendum-reaction |archive-date=June 2, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> He resigned as PQ leader and Quebec premier the next day. The English-language media, as well as non-sovereigntist newspapers such as ''[[La Presse (Canadian newspaper)|La Presse]]'' and ''[[Le Soleil (Quebec)|Le Soleil]]'', associated Parizeau's resignation only with these remarks,{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} against which the sovereigntist-friendly media (notably the newspaper ''[[Le Devoir]]'') argued that he had made the decision beforehand, drawing attention to a television interview conducted on the eve of the vote with the [[TVA (TV network)|Groupe TVA]] channel in which Parizeau spoke of his intentions to step down in the event of defeat. (This interview had previously been held under "embargo", which is to say that the station agreed not to broadcast it until the referendum was over.) Parizeau was replaced by [[Lucien Bouchard]] as PQ leader and Quebec premier on January 29, 1996. Parizeau retired to private life, but continued to make comments critical of Bouchard's new government and its failure to press the cause of Quebec independence. He owned an estate at his vineyard in [[France]], a farm in the [[Eastern Townships]] of Quebec and a home in [[Montreal]]. His biographer is [[Pierre Duchesne (politician)|Pierre Duchesne]]. In 2005 he spoke of the [[1995 Quebec referendum|1995 referendum]] in the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] documentary [[Breaking Point (2005 film)|''Breaking Point'']]. His wife and former secretary during his premiership, [[Lisette Lapointe]] won a seat in the [[National Assembly of Quebec|National Assembly]] as a candidate for the PQ in the provincial riding of [[Crémazie (Quebec provincial electoral district)|Crémazie]] in the [[2007 Quebec general election]]. In June 2008, along with the other four living former Premiers of Quebec, Parizeau was named a Grand Officer of the [[National Order of Quebec]] by Premier [[Jean Charest]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/parizeau-jacques-4781/biographie.html |title=Jacques Parizeau|website=National Assembly of Québec |language=fr}}</ref> [[File:Jacques Parizeau BAnQ P243S1D5069.jpg|thumb|Parizeau in 1976]] At a 2013 meeting of ''[[Option nationale]]'', Parizeau stated to the room that the target of sovereignty for Quebec is still realizable, and that the PQ should make the maximum effort to attain it, including using public funds.<ref>http://www.brandonsun.com/national/breaking-news/parti-quebecois-should-use-public-funds-to-promote-independence-parizeau--194527651.html?thx=y#sthash.m7WlOShE.dpuf{{dead link|date=June 2015}}</ref> In October 2013, to the surprise of many Quebecers, Parizeau nuanced his earlier infamous "money and ethnic votes" statement to come out against the wholesale adoption of the [[Quebec Charter of Values]], which would have banned most religious symbols and clothing in the public sector (but not the crucifix over the [[National Assembly of Quebec|National Assembly]] President's chair).<ref name=CBC_Parizeau_OnQuebecCharter>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/jacques-parizeau-former-pq-premier-slams-charter-of-values-1.1893919 |title=Jacques Parizeau, former PQ premier, slams charter of values |date=October 3, 2013 |publisher=CBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602133537/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/jacques-parizeau-former-pq-premier-slams-charter-of-values-1.1893919 |archive-date=June 2, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> "Federalism is turning into true defenders of minorities in Quebec," he said to Radio-Canada at the time. "We can't put ourselves in a situation like that."<ref name=CBC_Parizeau_OnQuebecCharter /> By "we", he meant the Franco-Quebecois, the majority in Quebec, and who had voted in the majority for sovereignty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/5-ways-jacques-parizeau-shaped-the-future-of-quebec-1.3097398|title=5 ways Jacques Parizeau shaped the future of Quebec|date=June 2, 2015 |website=CBC News}}</ref> In an interview with [[CHMP-FM|98.5 FM Montreal]], Jacques Parizeau clarified the controversial comments he made in a 1995 speech following the sovereignty referendum's yes-side loss. He said that when he laid blame for the loss, he said "ethnic votes" and not the ethnic vote, and was referring to a coalition of Greek, Italian, and Jewish organizations which actively campaigned on the "no" side.<ref name=CBC_Parizeau_OnQuebecCharter /> Parizeau let his PQ membership lapse and supported the fledgling party [[Option nationale]] and its youthful leader [[Jean-Martin Aussant]]. After [[Pierre Karl Péladeau]] entered provincial politics, Parizeau publicly decried the state of the PQ. In September 2014, after the party's defeat in the [[2014 Quebec general election|general election]], he stated that it faced "a field of ruin." During the [[2015 Parti Québécois leadership election|PQ leadership campaign of 2015]], Parizeau told Radio-Canada in his last televised interview that "the party was gradually demolished and it has lost its soul."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-sovereignty-movement-has-faltered-without-jacques-parizeau/article24762791/|first=Les |last=Perreaux|date=June 2, 2015 |title=Quebec sovereignty movement has faltered without Jacques Parizeau|website=The Globe and Mail}}</ref>
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