<P> The culmination of multiple years of debate and planning after the failure of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown constitutional accords, the referendum was launched solely by the provincial Parti Québécois government of Jacques Parizeau . Despite initial predictions of a heavy sovereignist defeat, an eventful and complex campaign followed, with the "Yes" side flourishing after being taken over by charismatic Bloc Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard . </P> <P> The fast rise of the "Yes" campaign and apparent inability of the personalities of the "No" campaign to counter their message created an atmosphere of great uncertainty, both in the federal government and across Canada . </P> <P> Voting took place on October 30, 1995, and featured the largest voter turnout in Quebec's history (93.52%). The "No" option carried by 54,288 votes (50.58%). Parizeau, who announced his pending resignation as Quebec premier the following day, would later state that he would have quickly proceeded with a unilateral declaration of independence had the result been affirmative and negotiations failed or been refused, the latter of which was later revealed as the federal position in the event of a "Yes" victory . </P> <P> Controversies over both the provincial vote counting and direct federal financial involvement in the final days of the campaign reverberated in Canadian politics for over a decade after the referendum took place . In the aftermath of the close result, the federal government, after unilaterally recognizing Quebec as a distinct society and amending the federal constitutional veto procedure, referred the issue to the Supreme Court of Canada, which stated that the unilateral secession contemplated in the referendum was illegal . </P>

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