Federal Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller says Quebecers “hate referendums,” arguing they create division and leave lasting scars on society.

Miller made the comments as Quebec heads toward its October 5 provincial election and amid continuing debate over the possibility of another sovereignty referendum.

But saying Quebecers “hate referendums” is considerably broader than what the evidence establishes — because Quebecers certainly showed up for them.

Quebec's two sovereignty referendums produced extraordinary voter participation. In 1980, turnout reached 85.61%, with 59.56% voting against the sovereignty-association proposal.

Fifteen years later, an astonishing 93.52% of registered voters participated in the 1995 sovereignty referendum. The result was razor thin: 50.58% No to 49.42% Yes, a difference of just 54,288 votes.

Quebecers also voted in the 1992 Charlottetown Accord referendum, when turnout in the province was 82.76%.

Those numbers don't tell us whether voters enjoyed the campaigns or the divisions surrounding them. They do show extremely high public engagement when Quebecers were given a direct say on major constitutional questions.

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It's important to note that opposition to sovereignty isn't the same as opposition to referendums. Recent polling does provide evidence that many Quebecers don't want another sovereignty referendum right now.

An August 2026 Pallas Data survey found 64% opposed holding another sovereignty referendum, while 30% supported one. The same poll found 59% would vote against sovereignty itself, compared with 29% who would vote Yes and 12% who were undecided.

That's significant, but it measures attitudes toward another referendum on Quebec independence, not whether Quebecers oppose referendums or direct democracy generally.

Someone can oppose Quebec independence, oppose reopening the sovereignty question today, and still support citizens having the ability to vote directly on major political questions.

In fact, Quebec's history actually includes plenty of direct democracy.

Élections Québec records province-wide referendums going back more than a century, including votes on alcohol sales, sovereignty, the Charlottetown Accord and the creation of a Nunavik regional government.

Quebec's referendum history therefore demonstrates both sides of the story Miller is describing: sovereignty campaigns have undeniably produced fierce political divisions, but Quebec voters have also repeatedly participated in direct votes at exceptionally high rates.

Miller's comments come as Alberta is having its own argument over direct democracy and independence.

The central distinction is the same one often blurred in criticism of Alberta's referendum process: disliking the proposition on the ballot is not necessarily the same thing as disliking the right to vote on it.

Quebecers rejected sovereignty twice. In 1995, they did so by less than 1.2 percentage points.

But they didn't reject the decision-making process by staying home. More than 4.75 million Quebecers cast ballots, producing one of the highest participation rates in the province's electoral history.

But that isn't evidence that Quebecers broadly “hate referendums.”

When Quebecers were actually asked to decide their constitutional future directly, 85.6% turned out in 1980 and 93.5% turned out in 1995.

They may have disagreed bitterly about the answer. They certainly didn't seem indifferent to being asked the question.