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Dec 6, 1500
First Occupants (~1500)
The Amerindians had two different systems of leadership. The Iroquois had a matriarchal system, where leadership and decision making was the responsibility of the women. The Algonquins had a patriarchal system, where the father played the role of leader and decision maker. -
French Regime (1608 - 1760)
During this period, the French had control over Canada, or New France as it was called back then. Initially, the colony was under the Company of One Hundred Associates who enforced mercantilism; a system in which the colony must export as many goods to its motherland as possible. The clergy was everywhere, and there wasn't a separation between church and state. During this time, the people of New France had happy but hard lives, characterized by their autonomy and self-dependence, -
Implementation of Royal Government
After the colony became underdeveloped due to the mercantilist system, King Louis XIV and the Minister of Marine established the Royal Government in New France. The minister and the King would remain in France as the Sovereign Council runs the colony directly. The council consists of the Governor, who dealt with military and external affairs, the Intendant, who controlled the budget, taxes, justice, industries and infrastructure and a bishop to oversee the institutions controlled by the clergy. -
Signing of the Great Peace of Montreal
The Great Peace of Montreal, a peace treaty between France and the forty North American First Nations, was signed by Louis-Hector de Callière, who was the governor of New France at the time, and 1300 representatives of the forty First Nations. It provided sixteen years of peace before conflict arose once more. Present for the diplomatic event were the various peoples; part of the Iroquois confederacy, the Huron peoples, and the Algonquian peoples. -
British Regime (1760 - 1867)
During this regime, the British took over New France. The merchants who still had ties to France left the colony, and the British merchants quickly replaced them. However, the French, Catholic population was still present since they had no more ties to France. Because of their presence, many conflicts arose during this regime, causing many political changes over the years. These conflicts between anglophones and francophones in Canada still continue to this day. -
Royal Proclamation
After the end of the Seven Year War ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the military rule ended. That same year, a constitution was put in place to assimilate the French. Part of this constitution said that no Roman Catholics could hold office and no new Bishop would be allowed. James Murray, governor at the time, bent the rules and didn't fully apply the constitution, since doing so would incite a rebellion among the 99% French population. His successor, Guy Carleton, did the same. -
The Quebec Act
At this time, no one in Quebec was happy. The British Merchants wanted power through an elected assembly like in the 13 colonies and the French hated the changes it brought as well as the new boundaries. So, in 1774, the Quebec Act was created. It guaranteed French Canadian loyalty by enlarging Quebec's area as well as reinstating French civil laws, the tithe and the seigneurial system. Roman Catholics could now take the Test Oath to hold office. This act upset the Americans, however. -
American War of Independence
After the War of Independence, British loyalists living in the former 13 Colonies left for other British colonies. Canada received 36,000, and most settled in the Maritimes. 6,000 came to Quebec, and most settled West of Montreal. These areas were settled using the Township system. The population of Quebec became 10% British and this resulted in the British having more political power. The loyalists were used to having English civil laws and elected assemblies, so they demanded for and got them. -
The Constitutional Act
In this act, Quebec was split into two parts: Upper and Lower Canada. Lower Canada was almost entirely French and kept their religion and civil laws while Upper Canada was entirely British and used British civil laws, were protestant and used the Township system. A representative government was also introduced. It had a democratic element in the form of the Legislative Assembly which was consisted of people elected by the people. In Upper Canada, it worked well. In Lower Canada, it was deadlock. -
The Lower Canada Rebellions of '37 and '38
Discontent in Lower Canada grew. The elected officials had no real power because of the governor's veto power. By the 1830's two distinct groups had formed: the British Party and the Parti Canadien. They were so different that no negotiations could occur. The leader of the Patriotes, Louis-Joseph Papineau, wrote 92 Resolutions to London. They responded by giving more power to the councils and rebellions broke out in Upper and Lower Canada. Both failed, and Lord Durham was sent in afterwards. -
Act of Union
London took Lord Durham's advice to unite Canada and created the 4th constitution, in which the Province of Canada was now consisted of Canada East and West. Each had 42 members to its assembly, and the Governor still had veto. Each part would equally pay for the country's debts as well. This was still a flawed system, as the Executive Council was still appointed by the government, so there were conflicts. This was changed in 1842, with the PM being the one to appoint the EC. -
Charlottetown Conference and Quebec Conference
After the political system became fully responsible in 1848, no one could agree on who should be in charge. The party leaders agreed a merger was necessary and meetings were held to discuss said merger. After the Charlottetown Conference in 1864, the merger was confirmed. In the Quebec Conference that same year, they agreed on 72 resolutions to make the merger possible, including a federal system, 24 seats per colony, assembly elected by rep by pop and a railway between colonies was to be built. -
British North America Act
In the final conference, held in London, the leaders of the 4 colonies met to make an arrangement with the British Empire for Canada to become a self-governing colony: The Dominion of Canada. The British North America Act made this agreement official and the Dominion came into existence on July 1st, 1867. Responsibilities were divided or shared between the provincial and federal governments. The federal gov't could also disallow any provincial law if it felt it was not in Canada's interest. -
Canadian Federation / Dominion of Canada (1867 - Present)
During this era, Canada became self governing after the BNA. Conflict between the French and English continued, even well into the 20th century. Other provinces would later join between 1870 and 1949. -
The Era of Maurice Duplessis (1936 - 1939) (1944 - 1959)
During this period, Maurice Duplessis was the premier of Quebec. He idealized rural communities and had non-interventionist policies. The Roman Catholic Church continued to operate education and healthcare under his administration. He is frequently accused of opposing social progress since he opposed unions, and was frequently criticized by intellectuals. Duplessis also introduced many nationalist policies, such as introducing the provincial income tax and refusing federal subsidies. -
Quiet Revolution
After Jean Lesage was elected in 1960, Quebec went through major reforms to modernize itself. The state became the major force behind Quebec's social and economic development by taking over certain sectors. The Church's influence was also diminished and the gov't took over healthcare and education. Jobs moved away from rural or hard labour, there were more intellectuals and university trained specialists. Union membership also doubled, as commissions were established to promote industries. -
Current Status
At the moment, the Liberal party is in power both in the federal government and Quebec's provincial government. There hasn't been many conflicts, aside from incidents such as the Oka crisis of 1990. Quebec separatism has also died down since Pauline Marois left office. Feminist movements have also heavily influenced the country's policies. Here in Quebec, the French language is being preserved through bills such as Bill 101.
