<P> While opponents of sovereignty were pleased with their referendum victories, most recognized that there are still deep divides within Quebec and problems with the relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada . </P> <P> In 1999, the Parliament of Canada, at the urging of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, passed the Clarity Act, a law that, amongst other things, set out the conditions under which the Crown - in - Council would recognize a vote by any province to leave Canada . It required a majority of eligible voters for a vote to trigger secession talks, not merely a plurality of votes . In addition the act requires a clear question of secession to initiate secession talks . Controversially, the act gave the House of Commons the power to decide whether a proposed referendum question was considered clear, and allowed it to decide whether a clear majority has expressed itself in any referendum . It is widely considered by sovereignists as an illegitimate piece of legislation, who asserted that Quebec alone had the right to determine its terms of secession . However the Supreme Court of Canada disagreed when the matter was referred to that body, ruling that the Act is constitutional and, just as Canada is divisible, so is Quebec, a ruling that has significant implications for linguistic and ethnic minorities within Quebec, the bulk of whom have traditionally opposed secession . Chrétien considered the legislation among his most significant accomplishments . </P> <P> "Sovereignty - Association" is nowadays more often referred to simply as "sovereignty". However, in the 1995 Quebec referendum, in which the sovereignty option was narrowly rejected, the notion of some form of economic association with the rest of Canada was still envisaged (continuing use of the Canadian dollar and military, for example) and was referred to as "Sovereignty - Partnership" (in French Souveraineté - Partenariat). It remains a part of the PQ program and is tied to national independence in the minds of most Quebecers . This part of the PQ program has always been controversial, especially since Canadian federal politicians usually refuse the concept . </P> <P> In 2003, the PQ launched the Saison des idées ("Season of ideas") which is a public consultation aiming to gather the opinions of Quebecers on its sovereignty project . The new program and the revised sovereignty project was adopted at the 2005 Congress . </P>

Why did quebec consider leaving the canadian union