Unity Rally: Difference between revisions

The '''Unity Rally''' ({{langx|fr|link=no|Rassemblement de l'unité}}) was a rally held on October 27, 1995, in downtown [[Montreal]], where an estimated 100,000 Canadians from in and outside Quebec came to celebrate a united Canada, and plead with Quebecers to vote "No" in the [[1995 Quebec referendum|Quebec independence referendum]] (held three days after the rally).
Held at the {{lang|fr|i=unset|[[Place du Canada]]}}, it was Canada's biggest political rally until the [[2012 Quebec student protests|2012]].<ref name="CNN Unity Rally">Garsten, Ed. [http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9510/canada/10-28/index.html "Canadians rally for a united country"]. ''[[CNN]]''. October 28, 1995.</ref> The rally attracted considerable controversy because corporate sponsors, particularly from outside Quebec, made what, in the view of the Director General of Elections in Quebec, were illegal contributions to the No campaign (for example offering free or heavily discounted transportation to Montreal for demonstrators).<ref>{{cite news

| accessdateaccess-date = 2010-04-14

Then primePrime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]], [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative Party]] leader [[Jean Charest]] and [[Quebec Liberal Party]] leader [[Daniel Johnson, Jr.|Daniel Johnson]] spoke to the crowd for the occasion. Minister of [[Fisheries and Oceans Canada|Fisheries and Oceans]] [[Brian Tobin]] played a crucial role in organizing and promoting the event. Many Canadian politicians from outside Quebec, who had previously been asked not to get involved by the "No" committee, participated in the event, notably [[Ontario]] Premier [[Mike Harris]], [[New Brunswick]] Premier [[Frank McKenna]], [[Nova Scotia]] Premier [[John Savage (Nova Scotia politician)|John Savage]], and [[Prince Edward Island]] Premier [[Catherine Callbeck]].

Several Canadian phone companies joined the rally, [[Newfoundland Telephone Co. Ltd]], [[BC Tel]], [[AGT Inc]]. and [[New Brunswick Telephone Co. Ltd.]] allowed residential customers to make free five-minute long-distance calls to Quebec from 9&nbsp;a.m. to 5&nbsp;p.m.

A ''Le Devoir'' article described the event as "{{lang|fr|Les touristes du fédéralisme}}".

This estimated number was largely disputed on the day of the rally and for many years after.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite book|last=Cardinal|first=Mario|date=2005|title=Breaking Point: Quebec Canada, The 1995 Referendum,|location=Montreal|publisher=Bayard Canada Books|ISBNisbn=2-89579-068-X}}</ref> (There were huge discrepancies on the size of the crowd in the media. Montreal's English-language radio station CJAD reported the crowd at upward of 150,000, where CKAC, a French-language radio station, reported the crowd at 30,000.)<ref>[httphttps://0-search.proquest.umi.com.mercury.concordia.ca:80/pqdweb?did=20863807&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=10306&RQT=309&VName=PQD][docview/432905809 The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: October 28, 1995. pg. A.10]</ref>

A study of video footage by CBC television put the estimate at around 60,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uni.ca/library/mont_rally.html |title=uni.ca – Montreal Rally |quote=A study of video footage by CBC television put the estimate at around 60,000. |accessdateaccess-date=2010-04-14 |deadurlurl-status=yesdead |archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218053232/http://www.uni.ca/library/mont_rally.html |archivedatearchive-date=February 18, 2010 }}</ref>

[[Aurèle Gervais]], communications director for the [[Liberal Party of Canada]], as well as the students' association at Ottawa's [[Algonquin College]], were charged after the referendum for illegally hiring buses to bring supporters to Montreal for the rally, part of a larger accusation by some supporters of Quebec sovereignty that much of the spending on the rally was illegal because it was not authorized by the "No" Committee or entered in its expenditure report.<ref name=Grenier>[http://www.570news.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n0529110A "Source of funding for huge federalist rally in Quebec in 1995 still a mystery"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928041329/http://www.570news.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n0529110A |date=2007-09-28 }}. ''570 News''. May 29, 2007.</ref> Environment Minister [[Sergio Marchi (politician)|Sergio Marchi]] told reporters "Mr. Gervais, on behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada, should wear <nowiki>[the charges against him]</nowiki> like a badge of honour," and "I think it's a crock and they should stop nickelling and {{not a typo|diming}} Canadians' sense of patriotism to death."<ref>Vienneau, David. "Unity rally charges against top Liberal a 'badge of honour'". ''[[The Toronto Star]]''. June 4, 1996.</ref> Two years later, the Quebec Superior Court dismissed the charges, stating that the alleged infractions took place outside of Quebec, and did not break any laws under the Quebec Electoral Act.<ref>[httphttps://0-search.proquest.umi.com.mercury.concordia.ca:80/pqdweb?did=21609266&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=10306&RQT=309&VName=PQD]docview/433167694 [The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: April 5, 1997. p. B4]</ref>

Robin Philpot, co-author of the book {{lang|fr|Les secrets d'Option Canada}}, claimedsaid formerthat federal minister [[Brian Tobin]], chief organizer for the rally, told him that various Canadian corporations had helped to fund the initiative.<ref name=authors>[http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=c2388ab9-8001-46c7-850a-f36ccf5ba990&k=29433 "Option Canada book authors say they feel vindicated by report"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408110834/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=c2388ab9-8001-46c7-850a-f36ccf5ba990&k=29433 |date=2011-04-08 }}. ''[[The Montreal Gazette]]''. May 30, 2007.</ref> Two days prior to the rally, [[Canadian Airlines]] had announced its "Unity fare: up to 90% discounts for people who want to purchase tickets from anywhere in Canada."<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Quebec chief electoral officer Pierre F. Côté then issued a warning to six different Canadian transport companies, including Air Canada, Canadian Airlines and Via Rail, that they would face up to a $10,000 fine for any money illegally spent transporting people to Montreal.<ref>[httphttps://0-search.proquest.umi.com.mercury.concordia.ca:80/pqdweb?did=20862685&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=10306&RQT=309&VName=PQD][docview/432909241 The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: October 27, 1995. p. A11]</ref>

* [[Vive1995 leQuebec Québec librereferendum]]