World

Quebec Leader Quits

January 11, 2001 / 2:37 PM EST / CBS/AP

Lucien Bouchard announced his resignation as Quebec premier Thursday, citing his inability to gain independence for Canada's Francophone province and amid impatience by hard-liners at his cautious approach.

Bouchard said he would remain in his post until a successor could be chosen. That was expected to take several weeks.

He made the announcement after holding emergency meetings of his Cabinet and the Parti Quebecois caucus in the Quebec legislature. The caucus gave him a noisy ovation when he entered the room.

In his resignation statement, Bouchard, speaking in French, said his role as premier and Parti Quebecois leader was to bring sovereignty to the province.

The Quebec Issue

According to the U.S. State Department, the issue of Quebec's relationship with the federal government "has been a fixture in Canadian history, dating back to the 18th century rivalry between France and Britain." Canada began as a French colony, and even when the British took over, French influences remained.

The movement for independence gained strength in the 1960s, and in 1976, the independence-minded Parti Quebecois won provincial elections. Voters rejected a proposal to separate the province in 1980, and efforts began to try to incorporate the province into the Canadian constitution. Insufficient voter support defeated efforts at integration in 1987 and 1992.

An Oct. 30, 1995 referendum in Quebec on sovereignty failed narrowly, falling short by barely a percentage point. But with the sovereignty-supporting Bloc Quebecois now the leading opposition party nationwide, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency characterizes the issue of Quebec's role in Canada as the country's "paramount political problem."

(Sources: State Dept., CIA)

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"The results of my work are not very convincing," he said. "I assume all of the responsibility which is mine because I did not manage to re-light the flame and to sensitize our citizens to the gravity of the situation."

A champion of the Quebec sovereignty cause who led the campaign that barely failed to win a 1995 referendum on the matter, Bouchard, 62, has faced heavy criticism from Parti Quebecois hard-liners impatient with his cautious approach on holding another sovereignty vote.

While saying he wanted to hold another sovereignty referendum before his term a premier expired in 2003, Bouchard also has repeatedly insisted that "winning conditions" must exist, including a stable provincial economy and strong public support.

With opinion polls showing dwindling support for another referendum, Bouchard decided to get out of politics to work privately and be with his wife and two young sons. Bouchard lost a leg to flesh-eating disease in 1994, but his health was not considered a factor in his resignation.

News of the pending resignation first emerged on radio broadcasts in Quebec on Wednesday night.

Depute Premier Bernard Landry said Bouchard told him his decision was "irrevocable."

"I tried for hours and hours to make him change his mind but the mountain was too great to climb," Landry told the Montreal Gazette. "We are losing a great man, the best man for the cause."

Former Parti Quebecois vice president Fabien Bechard said Bouchard's family always has been important to him.

"Sure there were differences within the party, but he collected 91 percent of member support" at the last party convention in May, Bechard noted.

"A number of reasons have to be factored in to understand his decision," he said.

Brian Tobin, the industry minister in Prime Minister Jean Chretien's federal government, said reduced support for the separatist Bloc Quebecois in the November national election might have played a role.

"I don't think it is realistic to believe the goal of sovereignty can be achieved in the next few years," Tobin said. "Does Mr. Bouchard's leaving reflect that reality? Perhaps."

Bouchard took over leadership of the Parti Quebecois shortly after separatist forces barely lost the 1995 sovereignty referendum. In 1998 provincial elections, the party held onto power despite winning only 43 percent of the popular vote, giving Bouchard a five-year term as premier.

In the national election in November, the Bloc Quebecois — the separatist party in the federal government — lost six seats from the 44 it held in the previous Parliament and finished second to the Liberal Party in the popular vote.

By PHIL COUVRETTE