What was the result of the 1980 Quebec referendum?

On May 20, 1980 Quebec voters rejected sovereignty-association by 59.6 per cent No (2,187,991 votes) to 40.4 per cent Yes (1,485,851 votes). Voter turnout was 85.6 per cent. The referendum had asked Quebecers to authorise the Lévesque government to negotiate sovereignty-association with the rest of Canada, with any agreement to be ratified by a second referendum. The defeat was a major setback for the Quebec sovereignty movement, which would not propose another referendum until 1995.

The 1980 referendum question was carefully drafted to seek authorisation to negotiate rather than direct authorisation of sovereignty: 'The Government of Quebec has made public its proposal to negotiate a new agreement with the rest of Canada, based on the equality of nations; this agreement would enable Quebec to acquire the exclusive power to make its laws, levy its taxes and establish relations abroad, in other words sovereignty, and at the same time to maintain with Canada an economic association including a common currency; no change in political status resulting from these negotiations will be effected without approval by the people through another referendum; on these terms, do you give the Government of Quebec the mandate to negotiate the proposed agreement between Quebec and Canada?'.

The Yes campaign was led by Premier René Lévesque (PQ), Bernard Landry (PQ Cabinet minister), Jacques Parizeau (PQ Finance Minister), Gérald Godin (PQ Cabinet minister), and Lise Payette (PQ Cabinet minister). The Yes campaign emphasised Quebec's economic viability, distinct culture, and democratic right of self-determination. The No campaign was led by Liberal Opposition leader Claude Ryan, federal Justice Minister Jean Chrétien (directing the federalist campaign as Pierre Trudeau's lieutenant in Quebec), and Trudeau himself. Trudeau made several decisive interventions, including a famous May 14, 1980 speech at the Paul Sauvé Arena in Montreal in which he pledged that 'we put our seats on the line' for renewed federalism if the No won.

The aftermath was complicated. Trudeau's promise of renewed federalism led to intensive constitutional negotiations from 1980 onwards, culminating in the Constitution Act, 1982. However, Quebec did not consent to the 1981 Kitchen Accord or the resulting Constitution Act of 1982, leaving Quebec constitutionally isolated. Lévesque continued as Premier until June 1985 and died in 1987. The Yes vote of 40.4 per cent represented significant strength for the sovereignty movement; about 50 per cent of francophone Quebecers had voted Yes (compared to about 10 per cent of anglophone and allophone Quebecers), suggesting a majority within the francophone community would have voted Yes for outright independence rather than sovereignty-association. The 1995 second referendum on sovereignty was much closer (50.58 per cent No to 49.42 per cent Yes), demonstrating that the issue had not been settled by the 1980 result.