More than 20 years after it was recorded, the English-language speech then-Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau prepared in case of a “Yes” vote in the 1995 referendum has now been publicly released.
Parizeau recorded a calm and assured message to the people of Quebec, calling the sovereignty vote a “serene and democratic affirmation, one that no one can ever erase.”
The speech was recorded before all the ballots were cast on Oct. 30, 1995. Copies of the tape were sent to a number of media outlets, including CNN, with instructions that they be destroyed in the event of a “No” victory, which was declared later that day.
The French version of Parizeau’s speech was first broadcast a few months after the referendum. It was also read by performers at a tribute to the former Parti Quebecois leader after his death last year.
Now, for the first time, the 36-minute video including both French and English versions of Parizeau’s pre-recorded victory speech has been posted online by Quebec’s provincial library and archives department.
In the address that the world never saw, Parizeau praised Quebecers for their determination and “courage…to adapt and survive in America to preserve their francophone identity.”
He stressed the importance of a smooth transition to independence, which he said could take up to a year for the National Assembly to declare. He said that Quebec would keep the Canadian dollar as its currency, and not enforce customs regulations between the two countries.
Parizeau said that Quebec would maintain its crucial economic and trade relationships with the rest of Canada, as well as foster other ties to the country.
“We believe in the existence of the Canadian people,” he said. “We can stop wasting our energy on the quarrels that divide us.”
Jean-Francois Lisee, now a Parti Quebecois Member of the National Assembly, wrote Parizeau’s victory speech. He told CTV Montreal on Monday that Parizeau’s government wanted to convey a message of determination and reassurance.
“Every box was checked in terms of reassuring people that this would be an orderly, respectful transition,” Lisee said.
Parizeau also delivered assurances to Quebec’s anglophone community, newcomers and ethnic minorities, saying that the new sovereign nation and its constitution will “respect and defend your rights.
“We are all Quebecers, equal before the law.”
It was a far cry from the speech he actually delivered after the independence movement was defeated by a margin of just over 54,000 votes, in which he bitterly blamed the result on “money and ethnic votes.”
Parizeau resigned the next day.
He died in June, 2015 at age 84.
With files from CTV Montreal
