MONTREAL — Jacques Parizeau predicts Quebec's independence movement will rise again in great numbers as long as sovereigntist leaders can recapture the province's attention.

The former Parti Quebecois premier, who came within a razor-thin margin of winning the 1995 referendum, addressed sovereigntist supporters Monday at the launch of his new book on Quebec independence.

Parizeau, 79, argued the quest for Quebec independence is more important than ever in today's globalized world.

Now it's time to re-engage the masses, he urged.

"Insofar as these discussions are about interesting things, that they touch people, you'll see, the fervour will return, the taste to change things will return and there will be many of us who want our own country," said Parizeau, who moved slowly to the podium with the help of a cane.

His remarks drew a booming applause, followed by chants from the crowd of "Parizeau, Parizeau, Parizeau."

He said it's important to remind the old and teach the young that more than 94 per cent of Quebecers voted in the 1995 referendum.

Parizeau dismissed the argument that youth are not engaged in their future -- all you have to do is grab their attention.

"That question whether young people are interested in politics keeps coming back -- it's been 40 years that I've been hearing that and it's been 40 years that it's been proven wrong every time," he said.

"The young voted just like old people -- everybody voted."

Parizeau, who served as premier from 1994 until 1996, described the contents of his 250-page book, titled "La Souverainete du Quebec: Hier, aujourd'hui et demain," more as suggestions rather than political tactics.

The book is to be published in English next year as "An Independent Quebec, the past, the present and the future."

While the book touches on key historical events like the failure of the Charlottetown Accord in 1992 and the 1980 and 1995 sovereignty referendums, it focuses on his vision for an independent Quebec.

In his address Monday, he reminded how close the sovereigntist movement came to victory 14 years ago.

"In '95, there was an extraordinary mobilization," he said, adding that 61 per cent of francophones voted "Yes."

"We will never forget that in '95 we lost by a very small margin -- 52,000 voices out of five million."

After the referendum defeat in 1995, Parizeau famously blamed "money and the ethnic vote" for the loss in his concession speech. The next day he announced he would resign as premier.

Today, the PQ's timetable for the next referendum has been relegated to the back burner by party leader Pauline Marois.

On Monday, she defended her decision to put referendums on ice, saying the PQ is already following some of the recommendations in Parizeau's book -- including early preparations for the government that will one day lead a sovereign Quebec.