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1500
1500 - First Occupants
The First Nations didn't have any official powers or countervailing powers, but they did have different societies. The Iroquoians were matriarchal which means that their mothers were basically in charge of the family. With the Algonquians, it was a patriarchy which means that the men were in charge. -
1627 - Creation of the Company of One Hundred Associates
In 1627, the company of 100 associates was created. They were granted a trade monopoly by the King, so they could've been considered the official power in New France. They were supposed to populate the colony and they basically governed it as well. -
1663 - Royal Government
The royal government was founded in 1663 by King Louis XIV. Because the company of 100 associates wasn't holding up to their part of the deal, the King took over. This gave the King all the power. He could do whatever he wanted and no one could stop him. He had a governor to represent him in the colony as well. -
1670 - Sovereign Council
The Sovereign council were the three biggest representatives of the King. The governor was in charge of the colony and he had the power of veto. The intendant was in charge of the economy and the distribution of properties in the colony. Then, there was the bishop who was in charge of the Church, he rand hospitals and schools. -
1701 - Great Peace of Montreal
The Great Piece of Montreal was a document signed in 1701 by the French and 40 first nation groups. The French were peaceful with the Algonquians and the Hurons because they traded with each other, but they always had conflicts with the Iroquoians, so they signed the treaty. -
1760-1763 - Military rule
Between 1760 and 1763, the Seven Years War was still being fought, but the English already got New France. For these 3 years the military was nice to the French because they didn't know the outcome of the war in Europe. In 1763, Great Britain gained control of New France with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763. -
1763 - Royal Proclamation
With the conquering of New France by Great Britain, the British Government issued the Royal Proclamation. The goal of the proclamation was to assimilate the French into the British way of life. The territory of New France became limited to the St-Lawrence Valley, British criminal, and civil law was applied, as well as the application of the Test Act which swore off the practice of Catholicism. The new government was now also composed of a governor and an executive council chosen by the governor. -
1763 - Treaty of Paris
The treaty was signed to end the 7 year war. It declared that all the territory that belonged to New France now belonged to Great Britain except for 2 islands which would be used for fishing. The King of Great Britain now wanted to assimilate the French population by creating a new proclamation. -
1774 - Quebec Act
The Quebec Act was put in place as a gift to the French population. It put in French civil law instead of the British civil law, the territory of Quebec was expanded to include the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes. The Test Act was removed and the Oath of Allegiance was applied so you could still be Catholic in the colony. -
1791 - Constitutional Act
This act was made to try to help make the English happier. It divided Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. The English lived in Upper Canada and the French lived in Lower Canada. Each Canada had their own Legislative Assembly. Upper Canada had British civil and criminal law and Lower Canada had French civil law and British criminal law. -
1792 - Representative Government
When Canada split into two, they each got their own representative government. The governor has the veto power and he also appointed the legislative council who approves or rejects laws. The Legislative assembly is elected by the population and are the one who make laws. It gives the people a false image of power. -
1834 - 92 resolutions
In 1834, 92 resolutions were proposed by the Parti Patriote. They wanted the people to have a lot more power. Some of their demands include the election of the Legislative Council members and the abolition of the governor's power of veto. Lord John Russell turned down all of their requests which angered the members of the Parti Patriote. -
1840 - Act of Union
The Act of Union united Upper and Lower Canada making it United Canada. A United Assembly was formed which consisted of 42 elected deputies from both Canada West and Canada East. English became the official language and Lower Canada had to pay part of Upper Canada's debt. -
1867 - British North America Act
Canada became a federation in 1867 with the signing of the BNA Act. At first, Canada was composed of 4 provinces, Québec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The powers of government were separated into Federal and Provincial. The federal took care of currency, the army, etc, and the provincial took care of education, hospitals, etc. -
1917 - WW1 Conscription
When World War 1 happened, the British army was losing soldiers. The English Canadians enlisted in the war to help, but the french weren't interested. When troops were getting low, the government had to impose conscription which made it so people had to join the army. The French were not happy because it wasn't their war to fight. -
1918 - Women's right to vote federally
Before 1918, women did not have the right to vote federally or provincially. They wanted the right to vote and protested for this right for years. In 1918, after many years of fighting for suffrage, women gained the right to vote federally. -
1936 - Maurice Duplessis
Maurice Duplessis was elected as Premier of Quebec in 1936. Duplessis was a traditionalist and a nationalist who supported Catholicism, agriculture and the independence of Quebec from Canada. During his years as premier, Quebec's economy didn't flourish because he was selling Quebec natural resources to the USA at a bargain price. -
1940 - Women can vote Provincially
22 years after women gained the right to vote federally, they got the right to vote provincially. Women fought hard for this right with years of protests and campaigns. This was a big deal because women were seen as inferior to the men but with the right to vote federally and provincially they now had equality within the voting system. -
1942 - Conscription WWII
William Lyon Mackenzie King was elected and promised that he would not impose conscription. This changed when Great Britain needed more men from Canada. A vote was taking for conscription. Most of the English people voted yes because they wanted to help Britain, but all the French people voted no. -
1960 - Quiet Revolution
After Duplessis retired, Quebec needed to catch up with the economy. They separated the Church and the state. They made most sectors run by the government, like electricity. They built the metro and train stations. They also expanded their technology to modernize their province. -
1970 - October Crisis
The FLQ was founded in 1963. They were a separatist group which used violent matters to try to get their point across. They were the first terrorist group in Canada. Pierre Trudeau had to put in the War Measures Act to finally be able to capture them all which put an end to their organization. -
1972 - Union Movement
Workers didn't like their working conditions so they revolted. Many workers from different factories went on strike. They created Unions and demanded for certain rights. There were union demands for better education, health, salary, and child labor. -
1974 - Quebec Nationalism
The French are still fighting for more power. They wanted French to be the official language of Quebec which it now is. They also wanted French to be on everything over English. Now all signs have to be in French, menus have to be in French, immigrants have to take school in French etc. -
1990 - Oka Crisis
Some people wanted to build a golf course on Native land, but the Natives didn't want that. The Natives stood up for their rights and eventually their point got across. There was a 78 day standoff with no violent conflicts. -
1995 - More Separation Attempts
Even with all of the laws to protect the French, Quebecers still want Quebec to be an independent country. In 1980, René Levésque tried to get the vote to separate, but 60% voted against him. In 1995, Jacques Parizeau tried to separate again, and only 50.6% of the vote was against him.
