Though voters in Scotland have chosen to leave the United Kingdom united, many Scottish-Canadians agree Scotland has been irrevocably changed by the independence referendum.
Anne Moir, president of the St. Andrew's Society, says she had become convinced in the last few days that the 'Yes' side was going to win, but was relieved that Scots chose to reject independence. She now believes Scotland has come out better from the vote.
"Scotland now will be given the powers they’ve been wanting to have and yet they still have the union," she told CTV's Canada AM.
"The things that worried me were immigration, defence -- where were we going to be if we're on our own? And now, it's the best of both worlds."
The Scottish make up the third largest ethnic group in Canada, and many Canadians stayed up late into the night Thursday to watch the results as they came in: 55 per cent against independence to 45 per cent in favour.
'Yes' supporter Michael Cox, with the Scottish Society of Ottawa, says the whole campaign changed his thinking about the land his family once called home. Even four or five months ago, he was against independence, believing it was best to stick with the status quo. But as he read about the issues and precisely what the 'Yes' side was proposing, he came to believe Scotland should take control of its own future.
Now, even though Scots didn't choose independence, he says they've started the ball rolling for change.
"Last night here in Ottawa, we were saying, 'You know, the U.K. will never be the same now.' It is now on the path to change regardless of what happened last night."
Reflecting on the vote's results, Cox thinks while the independence push failed, it still managed to grab Westminster's ear that change is needed, and now those changes will come incrementally, not suddenly.
"I think that was the biggest fear with the ‘No’ side, that we might have too much change too quickly and it might be a little out of control," he said.
"Now, there's a blend. The ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ sides have now created a new state for Scotland to move forward and get the future that I think most people want to see for the country."
