-
Period: to
World War One Conscription Crisis
In 1917, thousands of Canadian men had been killed or in critical condition due to injury. However when the war began Prime Minister Borden stated that there would be no conscription, or compulsory enlistment for military service. But due to the attack at Vimy Ridge, in 1917 Borden had to introduce the Military service Act which made enlistment compulsory. -
Creation of the Union Nationale Party
In Quebec Maurice Duplessis, a former Conservative, had joined the Liberals to form the Union Nationale, which was a party that supported Quebec nationalism. This party relied on the support from the Roman Catholic Church and rural voters. -
Period: to
The Duplessis Era
During the years 1936 to 1939 Quebec was controlled by Premier Maurice Duplessis, along side his part the Union Nationale. He was a strong Quebec nationalist who promoted the idea of Quebec as a distinctive society. He wanted Quebec to be a 'nation' rather than a province in Canada. -
Period: to
World War Two Conscription Crisis
In 1939 Canada had declared war on Germany, Prime Minister Mackenzie King had promised that there would be no conscription. But the speed that the Germans occupied Europe in 1940 stunned millions of people. This put Canada in a position of a large need for soldiers. This is when King had to make a decision what to do with conscription knowing he would not get good views on this from Quebec. There for he made conscription optional, by using slogans to attract men to fight for there country. -
Period: to
The Great Darkness
Bribery and Corruption were the trademarks of the Duplessis regime. The worst case from the Duplessis regime was the 'Duplessis Orphans' there were thousands of orphans financed by the province, these children were either mentally ill or moved to insane asylums. this was known as the great darness -
Quiet Revolution
The government had modernised the province's economy, politics, education and culture. This wave was the Quiet Revolution, it transformed the face of Quebec as it took over social services and the education system. These students were then required to take more sciences and technological courses at school -
1960's Separatist Movements
In Quebec nationalism and separatist movement grew in the 1960's. People of Quebec were resented what they saw as injustice from the English-speaking Canadians. -
Bi & Bi Commission
In 1963, Lester Pearson appointed the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, to investigate solutions in order to prevent a grave crisis with the French Canadians. It was recommended for Canada to adopt a bilingual strategy that would promote both languages across the nation. -
Period: to
Front de Liberation du Quebec/ PQ party is formed
This party was made as a paramilitary group, this group was a socialist group in Quebec. In addition The Quebecois was a new country independent from Canada where there were extremist who joined terrorist groups called the Front de Liberation du Quebec which performed attacks on Montreal. The Pq party was formed in 1967. when the Parti Quebecois was formed. Where this party thought it was better for Quebec and Canada to 'divorce' peacefully than continue a tie with the two cultures. -
Canada's New Flag
There was an emotional debate which split Canada and Quebec. However Canada wanted to keep there red ensign; which lead to Canada wanting a new flag. This is when the red, white and the maple leaf were chosen to be the new flag, which was raised on February 15 1965 on parliament hill for the first time. -
1967 Canada's Immigration becomes "Colour Blind"
Immigration in Canada becomes 'Colour Blind' in 1967. In the process for immigration there is a points system that is assigned for potential immigrants who receive points in categories like education, age and being fluent in French or English, and job opportunities in Canada. -
Pierre Trudeau Becomes Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau was the 15th PM of Canada. -
Language Act Passed in 1969
The Official Languages Act was the Canadian law that came into place on September 9, 1969, which gives French and English equal status in the government of Canada. This makes them "official" languages, having preferred status in law over all other languages. -
War Measures Act 1970
At the urge of the Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, he imposed the War Measures Act. However until the october Crisis the act had only been used during wartime. Which the act had suspended cicil rights meaning anyone could be arrested and detained without being charged any offences -
FLQ Crisis aka the October Crisis
Trudeau disliked the idea of separatism and took a forceful stand against the Quebec nationalists. During October 1970, members of the FLQ kidnapped a British diplomat named James Cross. In exchange for a safe release the FLQ members demand the release of FLQ members serving prison sentences. This was done by soldier patrols going onto the streets of Montreal during the October Crisis. -
Policy of Multiculturalism
In 1971, an official policy was put in place by prime minister Trudeau. This policy meant that there would be "support to various cultures and ethnic groups that give structure and vitality to our society". -
1974 Bill 22 introduced by Robert Bourassa
In 1974, Bourassa responded with Bill 22, which was the very first provincial legislation that passed. Bill 22 made the french the sole of the language in Quebec, it was also to be the language of civic administration and services, and of the workplace -
1976 Immigration Act
The Immigration Act in 1976, was insured by the Parliament of. It focused on who should be allowed into Canada, not on who should be kept out. Further, it created four new classes of immigrants who could come to Canada: refugees, families, assisted relatives, and independent immigrants. -
Parti Quebecois Win the first election
In 1976, the Parti Quebecois won the provincial election. It was a great victory for Rene Levesque and his party, which had won only seven seats in the 1970 elections. he promised his voters that if he won there would not be an immediate seperation -
Bill 101 is Introduced by Rene Levesque/Passed
The separatists had no interest in official bilingualism, their priority was to strengthen the French language in Quebec. But shortly after the PQ took over the office they passed Bill 101, which specified French was the official language of the province, then commercial outdoor signs would be in French only and finally children of immigrants would be required to attend French schools. -
1980 Referendum on Sovereignty Association
In May 1980, the Parti Québécois government used a referendum to ask the people of Québec for a mandate to negotiate sovereignty-association, thus defined, with the federal and other provincial authorities. The PQ lost the vote (60 per cent to 40 percent). -
1982 Constitution Act
The Constitution Act, 1982 was a landmark in Canadian history. It enshrined the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution, the highest law of the land, and completed the unfinished business of Canadian independence allowing Canadians to amend their own Constitution without requiring approval from Britain. -
1982 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 patriation battle of 1980-81 originated in the failings of a half century of domestic diplomacy, and the unexpected second chance offered to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau when the Liberal Party was swept back to power in February 1980. -
Brian Mulroney becomes Prime Minister
In the general election of 1984 he ran an almost flawless campaign against Prime Minister John Turner's Liberals and won 211 seats, the largest number in Canadian history. He planned everything out and Had the majority of the crowd voting for him and his party. -
Bloc Quebecois Formed 1987
The Bloc Québécois. Is a federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was formed by Members of Parliament who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative Party and Liberal Party. -
Meech Lake Accord 1987
In 1987 the Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney attempted to win Québec's consent to the revised Canadian Constitution — following the Québec government's rejection of it in 1981. The result was the Meech Lake Accord, an agreement between the federal and provincial governments to amend the Constitution by strengthening provincial powers and declaring Québec a "distinct society." -
Period: to
1987 Reform Party Created
The Reform Party of Canada was a right-wing populist federal political party in Canada that existed from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protest movement and eventually became a populist conservative party, with strong social conservative elements. -
1992 Charlottetown Accord
Prime Minister Mulroney was not willing to let the Constitution debate end. He appointed a “Citizens’ Forum,” a committee that travelled across the nation to hear the views of Canadians on the Constitution. Eventually, Mulroney and provincial premiers proposed a package of constitutional amendments called the Charlottetown Accord. -
1994 Parti Quebecois returned to power
Perhaps angered by events in the Constitution debates, Quebecois again elected the separatist Parti Quebecois in 1994. The yes forces reminded Quebecois of their “humiliation” in the rejection of the Meech lake accord. -
30 Oct 1995 2nd Referendum on Sovereignty Association
On October 30, 1995, the nation held its breath as the referendum votes were counted. The results was 50 percent of the people of quebec had voted “yes” to sovereignty. The close vote shocked the Canadians. The threat of separatism lessened somewhat, however, in the following years. -
1998 Clarity Bill and the Supreme Court decision
The motivation behind the Clarity Act was largely based on the near separation vote of the 1995 Quebec referendum , in which the people of Quebec voted against the sovereignty option by a small margin. Controversy surrounded the ambiguity and wording of the ballot question. The Clarity Act is legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada that established the conditions under which the Government of Canada would enter into negotiations
