Thousands Rally Against Quebec Secession : Canada: The gathering, seen as the nation’s biggest, comes days before a vote that could propel the French-speaking province toward independence.

Flag-waving Canadians from every province streamed into Montreal on Friday, joining Quebeckers rallying for national unity three days before a referendum that could propel Quebec toward secession.

Drawing tens of thousands of people, it was the biggest political rally in Canada this century, historians said.

Montreal’s main square, the tree-lined Place du Canada, was a sea of wind-whipped flags--the red-and-white maple leaf of Canada and the blue-and-white lilies of Quebec, the country’s French-speaking province.

Chants of “Non, non, non”--”no” to separation--echoed through the city center, and signs in French and English said “We belong together” and “My Canada includes Quebec.”

Organizers put the crowd total at more than 100,000. While police had no immediate estimate, Montrealers said it was the biggest rally in city history.

“I don’t want to look back 10 years from now and think there was something I could have done that I didn’t do,” said Mindi Cofman, 44, of Vancouver. “Having Quebec in Canada is part of my identity.”

But Charles Olivier, a separatist hot dog vendor doing brisk business at the rally, said the show of affection was too little, too late.

“It shows they really care for us,” he said. “But it’s too late. I don’t know if things will be better with a ‘yes,’ but I don’t think they could be worse.”

There were a few scuffles on the fringes of the rally; two separatists said they were called fascists by people who tore down their “Yes” sign. But generally the event was peaceful, as were smaller rallies held across Canada.

Monday’s referendum will gauge the depth of longstanding cultural tensions between English- and French-speaking Canada. Though Quebec has wrung extensive autonomy and language rights from the federal government, separatists say its French culture can only flourish in an independent state.

Opponents of separation within and outside Quebec say the province’s cultural aspirations can be met without the potentially costly and bitter recourse of splitting Canada.

A separatist victory would not trigger immediate independence, but the separatists say that would be the result. The separatists have offered to negotiate for up to a year on a new partnership between an independent Quebec and Canada--while reserving the right to declare independence at any time.

The latest polls show the separatists in a slight lead heading into the referendum, but the sizable number of undecided voters makes the vote impossible to call.

Organizers said 15,000 people from outside Quebec, including contingents from the far west and Maritime Provinces, traveled through the night to join an estimated 100,000 Quebeckers at Friday’s rally.

Federalists hoped it would swing the momentum away from the separatists and convince wavering Quebeckers that the rest of Canada cares about them.

“I’m proud of being a Quebecker, and I’m proud of being a Canadian,” Prime Minister Jean Chretien told the crowd, speaking of his roots in rural Quebec and concluding his remarks in French. “Vive Quebec! Vive Canada!”

Separatists felt Quebeckers would not be swayed by the rally, which they depicted as a cynical operation aided by discount fares offered by the national airline and railroad.

“I recognize that the personal motives of many of those people are sincere, but we must call a spade a spade,” separatist leader Lucien Bouchard said. “I don’t believe for one minute that this is a spontaneous demonstration. It was carefully organized by the “no” camp with the goal of influencing Quebec voters.”

About 5 million of Quebec’s 7.3 million people are eligible to vote; 82% of the electorate is French-speaking.

Chretien won’t say how the federal government would react to a “yes” victory.