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'National referendums' are seldom used in 'Canada', and have tended to fail. The first two saw voters in Québec and the rest of Canada take dramatically opposing stands, the third saw most of the voters take a stand dramatically opposed to that of the politicians in power.

Contents

National referendums

Referendum on prohibition

Plebiscite on conscription

Referendum on the Charlottetown Accord

Proposed referendums

Provincial referendums

British Columbia

Newfoundland and Labrador

New Brunswick

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

Quebec

National referendums

Referendum on prohibition

Results of the National Referendum on Prohibition (September 29, 1898)

Jurisdiction	For Prohibition	Percent For	Against Prohibition	Percent Against
Alberta and Saskatchewan	6,238	68.8	2,824	31.2
British Columbia	5,731	54.6	4,756	45.4
Manitoba	12,419	80.6	2,978	19.4
New Brunswick	26,919	72.2	9,575	27.7
Nova Scotia	34,368	87.2	5,370	12.8
Ontario	154,498	57.3	115,284	42.7
Prince Edward Island	9,461	89.2	1,146	10.8
Quebec	28,436	18.8	122,760	81.2
Canada	278,380	51.2	264,693	48.8

Plebiscite on conscription

The Question:
:''Are you in favour of releasing the Government from any obligations arising out of any past commitments restricting the methods of raising men for military service?''

Results of the 1942 National Plebiscite on Conscription (April 27, 1942)

Jurisdiction	Voted Yes	Percent Yes	Voted No	Percent No
Alberta	186,624	71.1	75,880	28.9
British Columbia	253,844	80.4	62,033	19.6
Manitoba	218,093	80.3	53,651	19.7
New Brunswick	105,629	69.8	45,743	30.2
Nova Scotia	120,763	77.1	35,840	22.1
Ontario	1,202,953	84.0	229,847	16.0
Prince Edward Island	23,568	82.9	4,869	17.1
Quebec	375,650	27.9	971,925	72.1
Saskatchewan	183,617	73.1	67,654	26.9
Yukon	847	74.4	291	25.6
Total civilian vote	2,670,088	63.3	1,547,724	36.7
Military vote	251,118	80.5	60,885	19.5
Canada	2,921,206	64.5	1,608,609	35.5

Referendum on the Charlottetown Accord

The Question:
:''Do you agree that the Constitution of Canada should be renewed on the basis of the agreement reached on August 28, 1992?''

Results of the National Referendum on the Charlottetown Accord (October 26, 1992)

Jurisdiction	Voted Yes	Percent Yes	Voted No	Percent No
Alberta	483,275	39.8	731,975	60.2
British Columbia	525,188	31.8	1,126,761	68.2
Manitoba	198,230	38.0	322,971	62.0
New Brunswick	23,010	61.7	145,096	38.3
Newfoundland	133,193	63.1	77,881	36.9
Northwest Territories	14,750	61.0	9,416	39.0
Nova Scotia	218,618	48.7	230,182	51.3
Ontario	2,410,119	50.1	2,397,665	49.9
Prince Edward Island	48,687	74.0	17,124	26.0
Quebec	1,710,117	43.4	2,232,280	56.6
Saskatchewan	203,361	44.6	252,459	55.4
Yukon	5,354	43.6	6,922	56.4
Canada	6,185,902	45.0	7,550,732	55.0

Proposed referendums

During the Canadian Federal election of 2004, the NDP stated that it would require the federal government to hold a national referendum on electoral reform (specifically Proportional Representation) for support from the NDP should the Liberals win a minority government. The Liberals won a minority, and the NDP announced they would press for electoral reform through a referendum (the two other parties in the House of Commons, the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois, have historically supported electoral reform and are expected to support NDP legislation on a national referendum). The possibility of a national referendum on electoral reform was made more likely through the throne speech that opened Parliament in October, 2004, in which Prime Minister Paul Martin included electoral reform in his plan for the next Parliament. So far Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not made any moves towards reform of the electoral system.
There had been discussion regarding a national referendum over the issue of same-sex marriage, which is a highly divisive issue in Canada (and most other countries). A national plebiscite had been suggested by Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and some Conservatives and Liberal backbenchers. However, Paul Martin's Liberal government, with the support of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois, passed the Civil Marriage Act, legalizing same-sex marriage through Parliament in July 2005 without holding a plebiscite.
The government of Ontario has announced that if the Ontario Citizens Assembly suggests a different electoral system for the province than a referendum will be held in conjunction with the Ontario general election, 2007.
See - Ontario electoral reform referendum, 2007

Provincial referendums

British Columbia

In British Columbia, a Treaty Referendum was held on First Nations treaty rights in 2002. The referendum proposed eight questions that voters were asked to either support or oppose. Critics claimed the phrasing was flawed or biased toward a predetermined response. Critics, especially First Nations and religious groups, called for a boycott of the referendum, and only about one third of ballots were returned, significantly less than the usual turnout in provincial general elections. The ballots that were returned showed enthusiastic support, with over 80 per cent of participating voters agreeing to all eight proposed principles.
A referendum on electoral reform on May 17, 2005 was held in conjunction with the provincial election that year. British Columbian voters were asked to approve a new electoral system based on the Single Transferable Vote called BC STV. It passed with the support of a majority of voters (57%), but failed to meet the required "supermajority" threshold of 60%. Premier Gordon Campbell announced due to the large support shown for electoral reform a second referendum will be held in correspondence with the British Columbia general election, 2009. This referendum will also require approval by 60% of the electorate.

Newfoundland and Labrador

The island of Newfoundland, then a British colony, held two referendums in 1949 to determine its future. An initial referendum was held on June 3, 1948 to decide between continuing with the British appointed Commission of Government that had ruled the island since the 1930s, revert to dominion status with responsible government, or join Canadian Confederation. The result was inconclusive, with 44.6% supporting the restoration of dominion status, 41.1% for confederation with Canada, and 14.3% for continuing the Commission of Government. A second referendum on July 22, 1948, which asked Newfoundlanders to choose between confederation and dominion status, was decided by a vote of 52% to 48% for confederation with Canada. Newfoundland joined Canada on March 31, 1949.
A referendum was held in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1995 that approved replacing the province's system of parochial schools with a largely public school system. In 1997, a second referendum to amend the Terms of Union to allow for the Catholic and Pentecostal school systems to be disbanded and brought into the public system.

New Brunswick

On May 14, 2001, [(New Brunswick)] held a referendum on whether to continue to permit Video Lottery Terminals to operate in the province. 53.1% of those who voted voted in favour of retaining the terminals.

Nova Scotia

In 2004, Nova Scotia held a referendum on whether to allow "Sunday shopping." The result was a slight victory for the No side, although the government went ahead and legalized Sunday Shopping the following year.

Prince Edward Island

The small province of Prince Edward Island (under 150,000 people and therefore in scale more like a municipal government) has had several referendums in its past, although the correct terminology in the province is a plebiscite. The last provincial plebiscite was held to determine if Islanders were in favour of a fixed link to the mainland. It passed 60% to 40%. This allowed the provincial and federal governments to attract contractors to build what is now the Confederation Bridge. On November 28th, 2005, Islanders were asked to vote by plebiscite whether or not they wanted mixed member proportional representation - partly "party list-based" - electoral system. Islanders decided, 64% to 36%, to keep the status quo first-past-the-post based electoral system that was already in place.

Quebec

Two famous referendums have been held in Quebec on the issue of sovereignty: the 1980 referendum and the 1995 referendum. In both cases the people of Quebec have voted to remain within Canada.