Quebec Youth Cool to Sovereignty

Poll of the Day: The level of support for separation in Quebec hasn't been this low in generations.

The level of support among Quebec's youth for separation from Canada is plumbing record lows right now, with less than a third of people aged 25 and younger saying they want the province to be free, according to a new poll by Leger Marketing. While 32 per cent of youths might still sound like a large number, compare that to April, when 46 per cent of the province's youth supported sovereignty. Historically, as much as two-thirds of youth have been pro-independence. Ahead of the 1995 referendum, 65 per cent of youth indicated they wanted to separate from Canada, while in 1979, 63 per cent supported that idea. At those times, it was older cohorts that were more explicitly against separation, so it's noteworthy now that 34 per cent of all Quebecers support separation – two points higher than the rate among youth. The drop-off in sovereigntism also seems to have coincided with the rise of the NDP as Quebec's federalist option, as that party took 59 of the province's seats in the May 2 election. Many of the MPs who took those seats, especially in Montreal, were under 35 themselves.