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Conscription Crisis of 1917
PM Robert Borden was pressured into introducing the Military Services act which included conscription. The French Canadians completely disagreed and did not feel like they were related to Great Britain. The English thought the French were being disloyal to Canada. -
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Maurice Duplessis - Union Nationale (The Great Darkness)
Duplessis was leader of the political party Union Nationale. Duplessis was very pro-Quebec. Quebec was in awe because of his passion for Quebec nationalism. He refused all federal funding for education and health care as it would affect the "Quebec" life. However under Duplessis Quebec made no social, political or economical advancements. His time as Premier was an era of corruption. Quebec was left in a darkness, Le Grande Noirceur -
World War II - 1939
The French still felt no need to fight in a war that would be supporting Great Britain as they felt they had no relations to them. -
Conscription Crisis 1944
PM Mackenzie King at the time wanted to end all the tensions between French and English Canada. He said "not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary". When conscription was enforced the French were not as triggered as they knew Mackenzie King had acknowledged the French. -
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Maurice Duplessis' second time as Premier
Duplessis was premier for Quebec from 1933-1939 and again from 1944-1959 when he died -
Rocket Maurice Richard - The Richard Riots - 1955
Maurice Richard was getting heated on the ice, and hit a linesman, which resulted in an immediate suspension for the whole 1954-55 season. NHL President Clarence Campbell was the one who called the suspension. Campbell showed up to the first game after Richard was suspended and that caused the riot. Clarence Campbell was English, and they think this suspension was based on Richard's french ethnicity. Riots caused over 500,000 dollars in property damage. -
The Birth of Separatism - 1960 / 1970
In the 60s and 70s, the idea of separatism did not seem like a bad idea in French Canada. Quebeckers became more aware of their surroundings and country. They started to question how the french are treated and how Quebec stands. They believed that until Quebec separates, the french will never be treated equally. They saw this as the only solution to all their problems -
The Quiet Revolution - 1960
This was a time of significant change for Quebec. The leader was Jean Lesage, leader of the political party Quebec Liberal Party. Lesage focused on improving economy, social standards and the recognition of the french speaking Quebeckers. During his time he nationalized the hydro-electric, improved working conditions, and improved the status of women. This had some effects. Quebec now saw that it was better off independent, this began a more separatist vibe in Quebec. -
Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism - 1963
PM Pearson felt the country needed a comeback from the outrage of separatism in Quebec. Pearson feared a break-up between English & French Canada so he established the Royal Commission on Bilingualism & Biculturalism in 1963. He wanted to make Canada bilingual with French & English as the two official languages. He wanted to develop a strategy to expand the two languages across the country. Finally, protection of language minority rights. (attending school in a language of your choice). -
The FLQ - 1963 (Front de libération du Québec)
The FLQ is a separatist group that used to terrorism to achieve their ultimate goal of sovereignty. Between 1963 and 1970, the FLQ had set off a number of bombs that injured and killed people. -
French Presidents Visit - 1967
French President, Charles de Gaulle, was invited by the Quebec government to visit the Expo 67. His views on Quebec and Canada's situation feels the same as when France was liberated by the Nazis. He supported Quebec separatism and gave his famous slogan "Vive le Quebec livre" . Canadians were shocked that he used the Nazis as an example to describe this situation. The Prime Minister was outraged. This resulted in strained relations with France and Canada until de Gaulle died. -
Official Languages Act - 1969
Pierre Trudeau came into power in 1968, and he was determined to satisfy Quebec. In 1969 Trudeau's government passed the Official Languages Act. This made Canada officially bilingual, All federal government agencies were required to offer all services in both French & English. More french people were appointed to senior government positions. This Encouraged Canadians to increase their understanding of each other’s culture. -
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The October Crisis of 1970
Tension between Canada and Quebec reached a crisis in October 1970. The FLQ resorted to terrorism in an effort to reach their goal of independence. This resulted in two kidnappings. First is James Cross, British Trade Commissioner. The FLQ demanded ridiculous things that the government refused. Then, Pierre Laporte was kidnapped and later found executed in the trunk of a car. This resulted in federal troops taking position in Ottawa to protect government buildings and officials. -
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October Crisis (Continued) 1970
PM Trudeau enacted the War Measures Act which: took away the civil rights of Canadians, allowed police to arrest and hold suspects without charge for 21 and 90 days without trial. 464 people were eventually arrested. December 4th, Cross was released after being held for 59 days, kidnappers were flown to Cuba. The FLQ members accused of kidnapping Laporte were also arrested. The Crisis was finally over. This truly showed Canadians the seriousness of this independence movement. -
Le Parti Quebecois - 1976
Le Parti Quebecois was a provincial political party in Quebec. Their leader, Rene Levesque had a main aim to separate. In 1976, Le Parti Quebecois was voted into power. This was the first time Quebeckers elected their government. The party was dedicated to establishing an independent Quebec. This shook Canada, as people question "What will this mean for Canadians?". -
Bill 101 - 1977
The first step of action for Le Parti Quebecois was to pass Bill 101. This bill included : French was to be used in government, the courts and business, Businesses could only display commercial signs in French, and French becoming the official language of the workplace. (Quebeckers could now go work in places that were only English- speaking). English Speakers were outraged, a huge # of people left Quebec as they only spoke English. This caused more tension between Anglo and Francophones. -
Independence Referendum - Round 1 - 1980
Premier of Quebec Rene Levesque calls a referendum for Quebec's independence. Less than 20% of Quebeckers wanted independence. 84% just wanted some change within Canada. This is because of the fear of American dominance economically, politically, and culturally. -
Sovereignty Association - 1980
After the loss of the first referendum, Levesque offers the Sovereignty Association. This means that Quebec would be politically independent, with its own laws and citizenship. The "Association" part would be that Quebec would be economically tied with the rest of Canada. They would be sharing the same currency and having free trade. Over 90% of Quebec voted, the results were 40% yes, and 60% no. So Levesque still had no referendums in his favour. -
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The Night of The Long Knives - 1981 - 1982
Trudeau wanted the constitution to be Canada's only. The Gang Of 8 (leaders of all provinces) grouped up to discuss this. 7 of the members stayed at the Chateau Laurier, however #8, Levesque stayed in Quebec. The next day, they made their decision, without Rene Levesque. This infuriated Levesque as he felt back stabbed. This made French-English relations more tense as the French felt betrayed. However Trudeau argued that there was nothing wrong with this and that Rene lost regardless. -
Constitution Act - 1982
In April of 1982, Queen Elizabeth II came to visit Canada to proclaim the new Constitution Act on Parliament Hill. Quebec still felt betrayed because of this, especially Rene Levesque. However Trudeau stated before that he would change the Constitution if Quebec lost their referendums, which they did. This shows how the two perspectives explain either innocence or betrayal. -
The Challenge of Bill 101 - 1988
Many Quebec store owners and retailers were financially and emotionally affected by the new laws. As a cause of this, they formed a group called Alliance Quebec to fight this ruling. This law was challenged in courts and eventually reached Supreme Court. In 1988, Supreme Court of Canada ruled that : you cannot completely rule out English on signs, and that English had to be somewhere on the signs. -
1995 Referendum - Round 2
This was the last referendum for Quebec's independence. Public opinions across Canada were deeply divided. "No" supporters came to Montreal from every corner of Canada for a unity rally a week before the referendum. The referendum results were 50.6% NO and 49.4% YES. Canadians were shocked over how close Quebec was to separating from Canada.
