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Quebec's "psychological secession" from Canada came in five stages: the Quiet Revolution of 1960, the 1980 sovereignty-association vote, the constitutional process of 1980-82, the Meech Lake Accord process of 1987-90, and the 1992 Charlottetown Accord referendum. The 1995 referendum for independence, saw the narrow victory for the "no" side.  Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien<ref> See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001606 biography at ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2000)]</ref>  announced three policy initiatives that promised to change unemployment insurance, to recognize Quebec as a distinct society, and to empower Quebec and certain other Canadian regions to veto changes to the federal constitution.  French-speaking Quebecois gradually replaced ethnic consciousness by allegiance to a "national state" on the territory of the province of Quebec.  The '''Parti Québécois''' (PQ) emerged as a dominant nationalist party, formed in 1968.<ref> See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006123 article in ''Canada Encyclopedia'' (2000)]</ref>  PQ succeeded in passing two important charters, the Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (1975)<ref> See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009340 article at ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2000)]</ref>, and Bill 101, Charte de la langue française (1977)<ref> See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000744 article at ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2000)]</ref>, marked this significant evolution of Quebecois collective identity. Bill 101 made French the official language of the government and of the courts in Quebec; more controversially it made French the normal language of the workplace, of instruction, of communications, of commerce and of business. Education in French became compulsory for immigrants, even those from other Canadian provinces. The failure of the 1980 referendum on independence, and the 1982 economic crisis, led to the return to power of Robert Bourassa's Liberals in 1986.  

Quebec's "psychological secession" from Canada came in five stages: the Quiet Revolution of 1960, the 1980 sovereignty-association vote, the constitutional process of 1980-82, the Meech Lake Accord process of 1987-90, and the 1992 Charlottetown Accord referendum. The 1995 referendum for independence, saw the narrow victory for the "no" side.  Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien<ref> See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001606 biography at ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2000)]</ref>  announced three policy initiatives that promised to change unemployment insurance, to recognize Quebec as a distinct society, and to empower Quebec and certain other Canadian regions to veto changes to the federal constitution.  French-speaking Quebecois gradually replaced ethnic consciousness by allegiance to a "national state" on the territory of the province of Quebec.  The '''Parti Québécois''' (PQ) emerged as a dominant nationalist party, formed in 1968.<ref> See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006123 article in ''Canada Encyclopedia'' (2000)]</ref>  PQ succeeded in passing two important charters, the Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (1975)<ref> See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009340 article at ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2000)]</ref>, and Bill 101, Charte de la langue française (1977)<ref> See [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000744 article at ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2000)]</ref>, marked this significant evolution of Quebecois collective identity. Bill 101 made French the official language of the government and of the courts in Quebec; more controversially it made French the normal language of the workplace, of instruction, of communications, of commerce and of business. Education in French became compulsory for immigrants, even those from other Canadian provinces. The failure of the 1980 referendum on independence, and the 1982 economic crisis, led to the return to power of Robert Bourassa's Liberals in 1986.  

The national government in Ottawa refused to countenance independence. Under the leadership of Prime Minister [[Pierre Elliott Trudeau]]<ref> See [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=42553&query=quebec ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography''] </ref>, himself a leader in the Quiet Revolution, Ottawa countered with the concept of a single Canadian nation. Trudeau's actions culminated with the 1982 Constitution and the national Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which Quebec never endorsed and still is considered illegitimate by many Quebecers. The root problem is that Canada, as it is conceived by Anglophone Canadians, does not seem compatible with an enduring Quebec identity.<ref> Louis Balthazar, "Canada in the Setting of the New Nationalism  

The national government in Ottawa refused to countenance independence. Under the leadership of Prime Minister [[Pierre Trudeau]]<ref> See [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=42553&query=quebec ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography''] </ref>, himself a leader in the Quiet Revolution, Ottawa countered with the concept of a single Canadian nation. Trudeau's actions culminated with the 1982 Constitution and the national Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which Quebec never endorsed and still is considered illegitimate by many Quebecers. The root problem is that Canada, as it is conceived by Anglophone Canadians, does not seem compatible with an enduring Quebec identity.<ref> Louis Balthazar, "Canada in the Setting of the New Nationalism  

Quebec and the Ideal of Federalism," ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,''  Vol. 538, Being and Becoming Canada. (Mar., 1995), pp. 40-53. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-7162%28199503%29538%3C40%3AQATIOF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N in JSTOR]</ref>

Quebec and the Ideal of Federalism," ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,''  Vol. 538, Being and Becoming Canada. (Mar., 1995), pp. 40-53. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-7162%28199503%29538%3C40%3AQATIOF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N in JSTOR]</ref>