1980 Quebec referendum

The 1980 Quebec independence referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois (PQ) government, which advocated secession from Canada.

The province-wide referendum took place on May 20, and the proposal to pursue secession was defeated by a 59.56 per cent to 40.44 per cent margin.

A second referendum on sovereignty, which was held in 1995, also rejected pursuing secession, albeit by a much smaller margin (50.58% to 49.42%).