The Quebec sovereignist campaign began with the creation of the Parti QuÔebÔecois in 1968 and climaxed in the provincial referendum on sovereignty, held on October 30, 1995. On that extraordinary evening, Canadians sat glued to their television screens as polling results trickled in. Unlike the first referendum, in 1980, when the victory of the federalist No vote led by Pierre Trudeau was a foregone conclusion, the race in October 1995 was a dead heat. In the end, the No vote won by the narrowest of margins, 50.56% to 49.44%. Never before had the country come face to face with its own imminent extinction. Robert Wright revisits the drama and intrigue that brought Quebecers and Canadians alike to that fateful event. Robert Wright is professor of history at Trent University in Oshawa, Ontario.