Canada: A Separatist's Last Hurrah

He was known as the man who tried to break the French-speaking province of Quebec away from the rest of Canada. But over the years the idea of separation had soured among Quebec's voters, and last November, Premier Rene Levesque persuaded his ruling Parti Quebecois to shelve the notion of independence. With the party trailing the opposition Liberals by 2 to 1 in the polls, many members called on him to resign. They repeated their request three weeks ago when the Liberals captured four seats in a by-election and reduced the P.Q.'s majority in the province's national assembly to a single vote. Last week Levesque, 62, a volatile ex-journalist, heeded the calls and said he would step down.

Levesque's resignation, which will not take effect for 90 days in order to give the party time to choose a new leader, marks the end of an era for Quebec. Levesque swept into power in 1976 promising to lead the province out of the Canadian confederation. He championed a law making French the official language of Quebec, which delighted most voters but hurt the cause of separation. Satisfied that they were at last living and working with their own language, Quebecers lost interest in seceding from the rest of Canada.