In which year was the first referendum on Quebec sovereignty defeated?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: The movement for Quebec sovereignty gained strength but was defeated in a referendum in the province in 1980. The year the test wants is therefore 1980.

The wording carries two precise commitments. Discover Canada commits the first sovereignty vote to TWO specific facts: (1) the movement "gained strength" — meaning it was a genuinely growing political force, and (2) it was "defeated in a referendum in the province in 1980" — meaning the people of Quebec themselves voted against separation in a province-wide referendum. So the 1980 result was a Quebec voters' decision, not a federal-imposed outcome.

Two referendums on sovereignty are recorded. Discover Canada commits Quebec sovereignty referendums to TWO named years. 1980 is the FIRST referendum — defeated. 1995 is the SECOND referendum — also defeated. The guide writes that "sovereignty was again defeated in a second referendum in 1995." So Quebec voters rejected sovereignty twice, fifteen years apart, by direct ballot.

The 1980 referendum sits within Canada's constitutional sequence. Discover Canada writes that "after much negotiation, in 1982 the Constitution was amended without the agreement of Quebec." So the chronological sequence runs: 1980 first sovereignty referendum (defeated); 1982 the Constitution amended without Quebec's agreement; 1995 second sovereignty referendum (also defeated). The guide also commits the broader background to the Quiet Revolution: "Quebec experienced an era of rapid change in the 1960s known as the Quiet Revolution. Many Quebecers sought to separate from Canada. In 1963 Parliament established the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. This led to the Official Languages Act (1969), which guarantees French and English services in the federal government across" the country. So the 1980 referendum was the first formal democratic test of Quebec sovereignty after two decades of growing nationalist sentiment. The guide concludes that "the autonomy of Quebec within Canada remains a lively topic—part of the dynamic that continues to shape our country." So when the test asks the year of the first defeated sovereignty referendum, the source-precise answer is 1980.

The question is testing whether new citizens know the year of the first sovereignty referendum. Discover Canada commits to one year: 1980. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each pick a different year. The first choice is too early — never named in the source for sovereignty referendums. The second choice — also not named in the source for the first sovereignty vote (the source places the first referendum at 1980). The fourth choice is too late — the source places the first referendum at 1980 and the second at 1995. Only 1980 — the source's exact named year for the first referendum — matches.