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Discriminating Government Policy
Government Policy Explicitly descriminatedGovernment Policy Explicitly discriminated and favored European nationals and excluded others -
World War One Conscription Crisis
The federal government decided in 1917 to conscript young men for overseas military service. Voluntary recruitment was failing to maintain troop numbers, and Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden believed in the military value, and potential post-war influence, of a strong Canadian contribution to the war. -
Union Nationale founded
The Union Nationale was a Québec political party founded in 1935 . The party of a generation, the Union Nationale defended provincial autonomy, conservatism, economic liberalism and rural life. The Union Nationale received most of its support from rural voters, small- and medium-scale businessmen, and non-unionized labour. -
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The Duplessis Era
Maurice Duplessis became Le Chef and avoided all English influences. There was also horrid working habits, and Duplessis discouraged unions. There was ever strong arms tactics taken against unions. -
World War Two Conscription Crisis
The government then passed Bill 80, authorizing conscription for overseas service if it was deemed necessary. Québec's Bloc Populaire continued to fight against conscription by presenting candidates for the August 1944 provincial elections and the June 1945 federal elections.
Still, this second conscription crisis worsened relations between anglophones and francophones in Canada, though to a lesser extent than during the First World War. -
Mid 20th The Beginning of Anti-Discrimination Legislation
Ontario’s Racial Discrimination Act was the first legislation in Canada that prohibited the representation of ethnic minority in discriminatory ways. -
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The Duplessis Era Part 2
Maurice Duplessis serves as the Union Nationale premier of Quebec once again. The great darkness is apparent once again. -
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The Quiet Revolution
When Jean Lesage was the Premier of Quebec, he wanted more control over decisions affecting French Canadians' futures. He sought to create a new equal partnership with English Canada. His slogan was Maitres chez nous which means "masters of our own house" -
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1960s Separatist Movement
Emerged in Quebec in the late 1950s and 1960s. Popular support for separatism in Québec and for the organizations that represented it rapidly increased in the province in the late 1960s and the 1970s, particularly after the Parti Québécois was formed in 1968. The party was able to rally most of the province's nationalist political groups to its program of political independence coupled with the economic association ("sovereignty-association") with English-speaking Canada. -
Immigration policy revised
immigration policy revised in attempt to eliminate racial discrimination
Ellen Fairclough, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration in the early 1960s, made gains in dismantling Canada’s “white Canada” immigration policy by changing regulations. A Step towards the upcoming implementation of the points system of evaluating potential immigrants. -
Front de liberation du Quebec FLQ party is formed
The FLQ is best known for the 1970 October Crisis, the first occasion in the history of Canada that its citizens were deprived of their rights and freedoms during peacetime.
The FLQ was formed by the more radical elements of the Comité de libération nationale and the RR.
In 1963, underground FLQ bombed federal armories and in Westmount. Their objective was the complete destruction of the influence and symbols of English colonialism. -
Bi-Bi Commision
Bi& Bi Commission (Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism) investigation by Lester B. Pearson. He sought to improve French-Canadian relations when he discovered a difference in benefits between English and French Canadians. -
The point system
Canadian government’s first real attempt to eliminate discrimination from the immigration process. Changed the way applicants’ (for immigration) file evaluated. More objective and less dependent on the whims of immigration officers. Immigrants awarded points in each criterion, and if sufficient points are earned, they were permitted to immigrate. Ethnicity was not a part of the criteria. -
Official Languages Act is signed by Trudeau
The official languages act gives all Canadians the legal right to deal with the federal government in either French or English. It also makes it mandatory that products in Canada needed to be labeled in both french and English. -
FLQ crisis (October Crisis)
The FLQ (Front de Liberation du Quebec) commits many violent political actions including bombings, shooting at people and many more. Their primary target is prominent English Canadians. Many of the separatist group were sent to jail. In October 1970 the first political kidnapping in Canadian history was acted out FLQ terrorists. They were caught and all received life sentences. In total 23 people went to jail as a result. -
The war measures act
In response to the October crisis, the Canadian government invoked the war measures act to take away certain civil rights. Membership in the FLQ became illegal. This act also gave the government less restrictions for 90 days. -
Trudeau’s multicultural policy.
Officially recognized Canada as bicultural and bilingual. This means that he officially acknowledged both dominant culture of Canada (French and British). Canada’s French Immersion programs are a product of this policy. The policy has been criticized for its largely symbolic quality – expressed some important views on multiculturalism but did not enact any important changes, and focused only on two dominant groups and ignored other groups. An investigation by Lester B. Pearson -
Bill 22
The Liberal premier of Quebec Robert Bourassa introduces the Bill 22. This bill made the official language of Quebec French. Additionally, children had to pass an English proficiency test before being allowed to register at English schools in Quebec. Bourassa passed the bill because of Quebec's declining birth rates and increasing immigration rates. -
Immigration policy moves to ‘sponsorship program’
landed immigrants, like Canadian citizens, may also apply to sponsor the admission to Canada of close family members who might not otherwise be able to satisfy stringent Canadian admission criteria. The sponsor must agree to ensure anyone brought into Canada will not become an economic burden to Canadian society. For many years, sponsored families of those already in Canada were the single largest group of those admitted into Canada. -
Parti Quebecois wins provincial election
The party was elected to its first term in office in 1976 and went on to hold two referendums on Québec sovereignty: one in 1980 and the other in 1995. The PQ passed many important pieces of legislation during this first term. The referendum on sovereignty-association that the PQ had promised during the 1976 election campaign was held in May 1980 (Québec Referendum (1980)). -
Bill 101 introduced by Parti Quebecois, Rene Levesque
Bill 101, or the Charter of the French Language as it’s also known, was introduced by the first-ever Parti Quebecois government, led by then-Premier René Lévesque. It was passed into law on August 26, 1977.
The purpose of Bill 101 was to make French the commonly used language of Quebec. -
Referendum on Sovereignty Association (include the results of the referendum)
The Québec referendum of 1980, on the Parti Québécois government’s plans for sovereignty-association. In this referendum, the government asked the people of Québec to give it a mandate to “negotiate a new constitutional agreement with the rest of Canada, based on the equality of nations.” When the votes were counted, nearly 60% of Quebecers had voted against this plan, and it was thereby rejected. -
Patriation of the Constitution
In 1982 Canada "patriated" its Constitution, transferring the country's highest law, the British North America Act, from the authority of the British Parliament — a connection from the colonial past — to Canada's federal and provincial legislatures.
The Constitution was updated with a new amending formula and a Charter of Rights — changes that occurred after a fierce, 18-month political and legal struggle that dominated headlines and the agendas of every government in the country. -
Brian Mulroney becomes Prime Minister
As prime minister and leader of the Progressive Conservative party, Brian Mulroney brought in the landmark Free Trade Agreement with the United States and oversaw passage of the unpopular Goods and Services Tax. Mulroney’s tenure was also marked by his efforts to persuade Québec government to sign the Constitution; despite extensive consultation and negotiation, both the Meech Lake Accord and Charlottetown Accord were unsuccessful. -
Constitution Act
The Constitution Act, 1982 enshrined the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution and completed the unfinished business of Canadian independence — allowing Canadians to amend their own Constitution without requiring approval from Britain. -
The Bloc Québécois
Led by Lucien Bouchard, the Bloc Québécois became the official party of opposition. It was a separatist party and sought to achieve Quebec sovereignty. Sought for separation from Canada. -
Reform Party Created
The Reform Party was a right-wing, populist, western political protest movement that grew to become the official opposition in Parliament in 1997. Reform played a role in the creation of the Canadian Alliance, as well as the demise of the federal Progressive Conservative Party — and the eventual merger of those two groups into today's Conservative Party. -
Meech Lake Accord
Attempted by Prime Minister Mulroney to amend the constitution so the province of Quebec would agree to be apart of it. SOme minorities, for example aboriginal people, opposed the accord. -
Department of Multiculturalism formed
The progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney passed the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, which formalized the government's commitment to establishing legislation to protect ethnic, racial, linguistic and religious diversity within Canadian society. Multiculturalism was celebrated as a new vision of Canadian identity. -
Union Nationale dissolved
Voters who were in their twenties during the 1930s were its most loyal supporters. The party subsequently struggled to renew its electoral base, which led to its decline. -
Meech Lake Accord
Elijah Harper (an aboriginal leader) criticizes the Meech Lake accord because he believed that aboriginal people deserved the same special status along with Quebec. -
Charlotte Town accord
As a result of the failed Meek Lake Accord, Quebec was still not in Canada's constitution. Therefore the Charlotte town accords made adjustments to the agreement. This round of negotiations was called the Canada Round. -
The Parti Quebecois return to power
Led by Jacques Parizeau who became the new Premier of Quebec as a result, the Parti Quebecois defeated the liberals i the Quebec provincial election -
2nd Referendum on Sovereignty Association
After the rejection of Charlottetown, Jacques Parizeau held another referendum on Quebec's sovereignty. This time the question was, "should Quebec be separate from Canada. Majority won not to by a slim margin. -
Clarity Bill and the Supreme Court decision
The Clarity act stated that in any future referenda, Quebec must ask a clear question and win a clear majority. The Supreme Court ruled that Quebec did not have the right to separate from Canada. Also in order to separate, Quebec would have to negotiate with the federal government.
