Thursday September 18th, 2014, 86% of Scotland’s eligible voters came out to voice their opinion on the future independence of Scotland. “Should Scotland be an independent country?”

Well 55.3% of voters said “no” to Scottish independence. A slim majority with a even more surprising fallout.

Socio-political outcomes from this event are still in the forefront of international news. Surprisingly this referendum has resulted in little to no scandal or public backlash to report on. Instead of riots and angry speeches,  we are being bombarded with statistics and comparisons; that for some, may hit close to home in Canada.

How Does Scottish Independence Failing Bode for Quebec?

For Canadian’s, hearing Scotland would be heading to the polls to determine its union with the United Kingdom, has sparked some déjà vu. Quebec separatists have held, and failed in, two referendum votes to determine Quebec independence from Canada in the past thirty-four years.

Of course without all of the riots “the attitude of the Yes campaigners in the Scottish independence campaign could [have] lead to” to report on, instead we turn to comparison and predictions.

Voter Turn Out

First of all, we have to examine the numbers and raw data.

Scotland’s voter turnout on September 18 2014, was a whopping 86%. This is “one of the highest in the democratic world for any election or any referendum in history.” Quebec separatists still see a light of hope however when comparing Scotland and Quebec’s referendum turnouts.

86% as we said earlier, is incredible. However this wanes in comparison to the 1995 Quebec independence referendum, which boasted a 93% voter turnout.

Who Got to Vote?
Yet again, Scotland’s surprising the world with their peaceful and highly democratic practices!    For the first time, 16 and 17 year old Scottish citizens were able to vote. Did this tip the scales in favour of either camp? At this point it is too early to tell. However it can be verified that those in the 60 and over age demographic voted solidly in the “no” campaign’s favour.

Who got to vote in the Quebec referendums?

Well Quebec residents of course, but unfortunately only those who were of age of majority (18) in 1980 and 1995. In the instances of Quebec separatism however, the demographics voting in favour of separatism were largely those in the older age demographics.

So Really, the Scottish and Quebec Referendums are Similar?

Perhaps there is reason to give credit to certain parallels being drawn between the two “wanna-be-independents.” However perhaps the most important aspect when comparing these two territories is, would their independent state survive?

When comparing Scotland and Quebec in regard to their referendums, we must also consider their abilities to support themselves financially and provide for their people socially.

Scotland: Land of the Free (From London)

“Scots are already free to eat haggis, drink Irn-Bru, and toss poles. They have their own parliament and courts. But they can’t escape London’s orbit, and they aren’t happy about it.” The reality of Scotland’s situation, is many are voting not for independence from the UK, but from the city of London specifically. London, which is the financially draining overlord to Scottish economic prosperity.

So long story short. Yes, Scotland could survive as an independent state from the UK.
Could Quebec survive independently from Canada?

Quebec: We Can Still Use Your Military and Commerce, Right?

Not so much. If Quebec were to separate from Canada, majority of businesses have voiced intentions to leave the province and move production to the US or other parts of Canada. Without business investment and the use of the Canadian dollar, Quebec would quickly fail economically and cause a “liquidity crisis” in Canada as a whole, “as foreign investors [would] stop buying Canadian bonds until the confusion settles.”

In Conclusion

For as many articles that aren’t written about riots and political controversy surrounding Scotland’s referendum, there are just as many drawing parallels to Quebec separatism. Whether these parallels mean hope or discouragement to Quebec separatism, time will tell. In the mean time, the world will continue to follow this story closely. And this is surely not the last we will hear of separatism in Scotland or Quebec in the future I suspect. But then again, not everyone agrees.