Elena Whitham: ‘Scotland can learn from Quebec’s bid for independence’

She told The National that the Yes movement here is succeeding where groups in Canada failed, by sustaining support among young people and women. However, she cautioned that Westminster could copy tactics from Canada to prevent indyref2.

The East Ayrshire councillor, who is aiming to take over from Jeane Freeman in Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, moved from Scotland to Canada when she was six. She was a university student in Quebec during the 1995 referendum, when the pro-independence side was narrowly defeated after winning more than 49% of the popular vote.

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Although she notes significant differences between the Yes movements in Scotland and Quebec, Whitham said she was naturally drawn to the cause in Canada. “I was raised in a household that was very pro-Scottish independence and so for me there was an affinity in terms of where people seek sovereignty and self-governance,” she explained.

Both Quebec and Scotland have similar economic strengths and potential for growth, Whitham said, pointing to renewable energy infrastructure, aerospace projects and life science expertise.

Parallels were also drawn thanks to Hollywood, with the blockbuster release of Braveheart coming shortly before the 1995 referendum.

Whitham, despite joking it’s a “ridiculous thing to bring into the conversation”, nevertheless notes that the film “brought Scotland’s quest for independence into the political sphere in Canada”.

She recounted a political science class from the same period in which she interrupted her lecturer after he repeatedly referred to the UK as England.

She was invited to give a talk the following week about Scottish independence, which she gladly accepted. “Because Braveheart was in the consciousness of Canada, and because we were in this political maelstrom of an independence referendum, people at that time were drawing the parallels too,” the SNP candidate said. “So for me it was natural to start talking for a Yes vote, which really set me apart from most Anglophone students, who saw themselves as part of Canada and not for Quebec sovereignty.”

Whitham, who returned to Scotland in 1996, likens the positivity of the 1995 campaign to that of Scotland’s Yes campaign in 2014. In both instances, she said, young people were galvanized by upbeat drives for independence. However, the narrow defeat for Yes in 1995 seemed to spark a drift away from the idea among young people in Quebec. Recent polls there suggest just a quarter of younger people support Yes.

Braveheart was released just a few months before the Quebec referendum in 1995

This, the SNP politician believes, should be a warning for Scotland’s movement. “It’s exactly the inverse of Scotland,” Whitham explained. “And this is why we have to make sure we get this right here.” She said concerns among young people – sustainable jobs, the climate crisis and racism – are the same on either side of the Atlantic.

The difference is that in Quebec, solving those problems is no longer linked to independence. “I think younger people here can see that the reason to support independence is because of how we will be able to actually deal with these issues,” Whitham added. “Unless you have the young people with you, the issue of independence is going to languish in the wilderness.”

She also credits the Scottish Yes movement for getting a significant proportion of women on board, something the Quebec campaign failed to do even at the height of its popularity in 1995.

The Ayrshire candidate went on to issue a warning about the UK Government taking inspiration from Canadian authorities. In 2000, the Canadian Parliament passed the Clarity Act, which gave it powers over whether another referendum could be held, on the question that could be asked and what would be considered a valid majority. “That demonstrates that if you don’t have overwhelming support for independence again, Westminster could follow the same route that the Canadian government took in terms of putting more caveats around a future referendum,” Whitham said.

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She pointed to examples where Tory ministers are already encroaching on devolved power, such as the Internal Market Act and the distribution of EU Structural Funds. “This Tory government is intent on dismantling a lot of the powers we have already – if we ever had a No vote, I think we would see that on steroids.”

Setting out her vision for achieving independence, Whitham dismissed talk of unilateral declarations of independence or a Yes supermajority.

To stave off the threat of Tory constitutional fiddling, or a Quebec-style decline in support, she urged voters to back the SNP at the ballot box. “If the question of independence is put to people too quickly or when we’re still in the pandemic, they might hark back to what they feel is the safe option.

“Whereas I feel we have the population with us at the moment, we just need to keep going and demonstrate why independence is the best way to recover from the pandemic.”