[CliffFletcher]

Anyone who thinks this is a divisive period in Canadian history has a pretty short memory. Let's look at the 90s:

1990: The Meech Lake Accord, an attempt to bring Quebec into the constitution, fails when Manitoba MLA Elijah Harper refuses to sign on.

1990: Firefights and violent confrontations between Quebec and federal armed forces and hundreds of armed Mohawks at Oka leave two dead.

1992: Charlottetown Accord, another effort to bring Quebec into the fold and de-centralize government power to the provinces, fails.

1993: The Conservative party is annihilated as a political force by the rise of the separatist Bloc and the regional Reform party. A party dedicated to breaking up the country becomes the Official Opposition. Virtually ever seat in Ontario is held by the Liberals, every seat in Quebec by the Bloc, and every seat in Alberta and B.C. by the Reform Party.

1995: Quebec referendum on separation narrowly fails, falling short by 0.5 per cent of the vote.

1997: Reform Party become the official opposition despite having only one seat east of Manitoba.


Makes 2018 look pretty good. Looking at our recent history, and at the state of the UK, U.S., even Australia, Canada today looks like an island of sanity and moderation.