Created 03/15/2022 at 2022:06PM
40 years ago in 1980 the Parti Québecois won the referendum and for almost those four decades we were living (peacefully) in a souveraineté-association with the Rest Of Canada: all federal jurisdictions have been transferred to Quebec city but free-trade agreements permitting the flow of certified workers, goods and service contracts through the ROC/Qc frontier (both ways) has been adopted.
This newly formed country kept its name and the deux solitudes flourish along peacefully for some decades but somehow the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Jean-François Lisée et Joseph Facal decries the gradual erosion of the french speaking population sur l'île de Montréal (due to immigration). Business wise, some are pushing for closer economic ties with la Mère Patrie (de Gaulle's "Vive le Québec Libre" is still resonating... ) and even some propose that we should be part of the DOM-TOM! France is sympathetic to the idea but stresses we must abandon existing free trade agreements with the rest of Canada.
Meanwhile the SSJB forms a civilian militia (La Meute) and the Parti Québecois has an ultra-nationalist arm, the Atalante group. Things heat up and those groups (fueled by hatred against anglos and their perceived economic success) plan and succeed to overthrow the elected Quebec government, seen as too close to the ROC and reluctant to any association with France and the EU. This violent government change is called the Dignity Revolution in history books (a museum commemorates the murderous clashes and celebrates the heroic deaths of some Atalante and La Meute members).
Right after this coup d'état driven by ultra-nationalists, the majorly anglophone section of the Montreal Island and regions bordering the Canadian frontier decide (through a referendum) to self proclaim themselves independent from the newly formed Quebec (illegal) administration . Quebec is furious and rapidly a military campaign is started to regain the lost territories (and revenues from the important economic activities of the region). For 8 years the conflict results in 14000 deaths, mostly on the anglo side (80% of 5000 civilians deaths according to UN reports). The Line of Contact with rebels territories passes right through the Montreal Island. Two international peace agreements (involving the neighboring USA, Quebec and the ROC) has been signed since the beginning hostilities but so far Quebec repeatedly violates them and no international pressure is observed to force them to comply.
Not as dramatic as life losses, the English population every where in the province (and particularly in the Eastern Townships, still under Québec administration) suffers from a legislation passed in 2019 to cement French as the country's primary language, ordering middle schools that taught in English and other minority languages to make the switch and mandating French versions of online stores. An article of the laws that entered into force in January goes further, obliging shops, restaurants and the service industry to engage customers in French unless clients specifically ask to switch. Officials in Québec say the initiative aims to revitalize a national language that was subjugated first after the British Conquest and later during the former Canadian Federation.
Anglos in the self-proclaimed autonomous region are still being shelled in civilians spaces since the hostilities began (8 years ago). Many are desperate and call for a Canadian Army military intervention, since the Québec ultra nationalists have yet to comply to peace agreements signed by Canada, Québec and their neighbour USA.