Timeline of Quebec history (1982 to present) - Definition

This section of the Timeline of Quebec history concerns the events between patriation of the British North America Act and the present day.

1980s

• 1982 - Led by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the Canadian government moved to patriate the constitution on April 17
• 1984 - Deranged former soldier Denis Lortie goes on a shooting spree at the National Assembly on May 8. The assembly is not in session; however, there are 3 deaths and 9 injured.
• 1984 - Pierre Trudeau resigns as Prime Minister of Canada after taking a "walk in the snow" to think it over.
• 1984 - Brian Mulroney, born in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, is elected Prime Minister of Canada.
• 1984 - René Lévesque accepts the beau risque of constitutional negotiations with the new Mulroney government. This leads to a serious split within the Parti Québécois.
• 1985 - Exhausted by infighting within his party, René Lévesque resigns as premier and leader of the Parti Québécois.
• 1985 - Quebec general election: Liberals win.
• 1987 - The Meech Lake Accord is agreed to by federal and provincial governments. However, it was never ratified.
• 1987 - René Lévesque dies.
• 1988 - Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement is negotiated, with broad support from both sides of the political spectrum in Quebec.
• 1989 - A geomagnetic storm causes a nine-hour blackout in parts of Quebec on March 13.
• 1989 - Quebec general election: Liberals are re-elected.
• 1989 - École Polytechnique Massacre on December 6.

1990s

• 1990 - The Oka Crisis.
• 1990 - Angered by the imminent collapse of the Meech Lake Accord, Lucien Bouchard resigns as member of Parliament and cabinet minister in the Mulroney government and founds the Bloc Québécois.
• 1990 - The Meech Lake Accord collapses as it fails to win unanimous ratification by the deadline. Support for Quebec sovereignty rises to high levels.
• 1991 - The Canadian government introduces the unpopular Goods and Services Tax (GST).
• 1991 - June 20: "Bill 150" is passed, providing for a referendum on sovereignty in 1992 (later canceled and replaced by a referendum on the Charlottetown Accord)
• 1992 - August 13: former Equality Party MNA Richard Holden joins the Parti Québécois
• 1992 - October 26: Country-wide referendum on the Charlottetown Accord. The accord is rejected by the population of Canada and also specifically by the population of Quebec.
• 1993 - Brian Mulroney resigns as Prime Minister of Canada on February 24.
• 1993 - Jean Chrétien, born in Shawinigan, Quebec, is elected Prime Minister of Canada.
• 1993 - The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect.
• 1994 - After almost 40 years of preparation the new Civil Code of Quebec comes into effect on January 1st.
• 1994 - Quebec general election: The Parti Québécois was elected to office, led by Jacques Parizeau.
• 1995 - On October 30, another referendum on sovereignty is held. For the second time, the measure was rejected, this time by an extremely slim margin of less than one percent. See Referendum of 1995.
• 1995 - October 24, the James Bay Cree hold their own referendum on whether or not their territory should remain a part of Canada. Over 96% of the Cree voted in favour of retaining the relationship with Canada.
• 1995 - Following the defeat of the sovereignist option, Jacques Parizeau resigns and is replaced by the head of the federal Bloc Québécois, Lucien Bouchard.
• 1996 - Severe flooding on the Saguenay River from July 18-21 devastates the region (today the city of Saguenay) and proves to be one of Canada's costliest natural disasters.[1] (http://sts.gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/tsd_dcp/index_saguenay1996_e.asp)
• 1996 - Jean-Louis Roux briefly becomes Lieutenant-governor of Quebec, but resigns after less than two months due to his now-regretted antisemitic political history during World War II.
• 1996 - Death of Robert Bourassa on October 2.
• 1997 - An amendment to the Constitution provides for linguistic rather than confessional (Catholic and Protestant) school boards in Quebec.
• 1998 - A severe ice storm strikes Montreal and southwestern Quebec in early January, leaving parts of Montreal without power for up to a week; destruction of power lines and pylons leaves a "triangle of darkness" south of Montreal without power for three weeks.
• 1998 - Quebec general election: Parti Quebecois is re-elected.
• 1999 - The Clarity Act becomes a federal law.

2000s

• 2000 - September 28 - Pierre Elliott Trudeau dies
• 2000 - December 5 - Beginning of the Michaud Affair.
• 2001 - Discouraged at the lack of support for sovereignty among the population, Lucien Bouchard resigns as Premier of Quebec and retires from public life on January 11.
• 2001 - Rhéal Mathieu, who was a member of the former Front de Libération du Québec is convicted of the attempted firebombing of three Second Cup coffee shops in Montreal. Quebec Second Cup cafes took the name of Les cafés Second Cup afterwards.
• March 8 - Following the resignation of Lucien Bouchard, Bernard Landry becomes premier of Quebec.
• 2001 - In April, Quebec City hosted the Summit of the Americas, attracting huge anti-globalization protests with activists from everywhere in the Americas. Simultaneously held is the Peoples Summit of the Americas.
• 2002 - The merger of numerous cities and their suburbs (municipal fusions) into "megacities" goes into effect, creating the new megacities of Montreal, Longueuil, Quebec City, Lévis, Saguenay, Sherbrooke, and Gatineau among others.
• 2002 - The Action démocratique du Québec wins four by-elections and temporarily enjoys high scores in public opinion polls.
• 2003 - Quebec general election: April 14, Jean Charest, a strong federalist and leader of the Parti libéral du Québec, becomes premier of Quebec.
• 2003 - In December, through an initiative by Quebec Premier, Jean Charest, the Council of the Federation is formed by the Premiers of all Canadian provinces and territories.
• 2003 - Paul Martin becomes Prime Minister of Canada.
• 2003 - The sponsorship scandal erupts, possibly tarnishing the Jean Chrétien legacy.