Montreal--A former lion of the Quebec separatist movement, Jacques Parizeau, who narrowly missed splitting the province from the rest of Canada in a 1995 referendum, has died, his wife said Tuesday.
He was 84 years old.
"Hospitalized for the last five months, he overcame one ordeal after another... until finally he was forced to surrender (Monday) evening," widow Lisette Lapointe said in a statement.
Parizeau had led the Parti Quebecois (PQ) -- the standard bearer for Quebec's secessionist movement -- to victory in a 1994 election and the following year doubled down on a referendum on Quebec independence.
The referendum was the second since 1980, and once again Quebecers rejected splitting from the rest of Canada. But the outcome was close, with the unity option carried by 50.58 percent of votes.
A lifetime dedicated to the separatist cause came to an abrupt end three months later in January 1996 when the firebrand Parizeau resigned as premier and PQ leader amid a backlash over controversial comments he made in his referendum concession speech blaming immigrants and "money" for stealing the vote.
AFP
