Chapter 8 SS 11

1. French-English Relations
Chapter 8
Canadian Identity

2. Background
• Up until the end of the Seven Years War in 1763,
what is now Canada was the French colony of New
France.
• In Canada, the British defeated the French forces at
the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
• With the Treaty of Paris at the end of the war,
France gave up New France, and was left with only a
few islands off Newfoundland.
• In 174, the Quebec Act was passed by the British -
Canadiens were given the right to maintain their
Catholic religion and their French culture.

3. • In 1867, Quebec joined Confederation based on the
understanding that the rights of French Canadians
would be protected.
• 1885-1944 – Events created tension:
a. Metis leader Riel was executed
b. PM Laurier compromised French interests in the
Manitoba Schools controversy
c. The Boer War
d. The Naval Crisis
e. Conscription in both World Wars

4. 1950s-1960s
1.) The Great Darkness
• Maurice Duplessis was the Quebec premier from
1936-39 and 1944-59.
• He was a strong Catholic, political conservative, and
avoided English influence at all costs.
• The Duplessis era was known for bad working
conditions, as he discourages unions and used
strong arm tactics against them.
• The period of his rule is refereed to as la grande
noirceur – The Great Darkness.

5. 2.) The Quiet Revolution
• Quebec then went through a period of rapid reform
and modernization.
• Jean Lesage (1960-66) was premier of Quebec and
campaigned under the slogan Maitres chez nous –
Masters of our own house.
• He wanted more control over decisions affecting the
future and sought to create a new and equal
partnership with English Canada.
• The era was characterized by secularization,
strengthening the welfare state, improvements in
education, unionization of the civil service, measures to
control the economy and the nationalization of
hydroelectric production and distribution (Hydro-
Quebec)

6. • Lesage sought “special status” for Quebec in order
to protect the French language and culture.
• The fed gov’t allowed Quebec to run its own
pension plan, loans, and medical insurance.
• The most drastic change was a huge increase in
Quebec nationalism – they became Quebecois.

7. 3.) Expo ‘67
• During the Expo in Montreal, the French
president Charles DeGaulle ended his speech
with “Long live a Free Quebec!”
• This statement encouraged French Canadian
nationalism and enraged English Canadians.

8. 4.) The Official Languages Act, 1969
• PM Trudeau signed this Act giving all Canadians the
legal right and ability to deal with the fed gov’t in
either French or English.
• All products sold in stores across the country had to
be labelled in both French and English.
• French Immersion programs were implemented
across the country.

9. 1970s
1.) The October Crisis (FLQ Crisis), 1970
• The Front Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) was a
separatist group founded in the ‘60s based in
Montreal.
• They spoke of Marxist objectives and of Quebec’s
separation from Canada.
• They were committed to using violent actions if
necessary to achieve their goals and were trained
by revolutionaries who were supporters of the
Cuban revolutionary, Che Guevara, and also by
Palestinian commandos in Jordan.

10. • From 1963-70, the FLQ committed over 200 political actions
including bombings and bank hold-ups.
• Targets included English-owned businesses, banks, McGill U, and
the homes of prominent Canadians.
• In October 5, 1970, four men kidnapped British Trade
Commissioner James Cross at gunpoint in Montreal. They
demanded a ransom of $500,000, transport to Cuba, to read the
FLQ Manifesto in public, and the release of FLQ “political
prisoners” jailed for terrorist bombings.
• On October 10th, another cell of the FLQ kidnapped the Quebec
Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour, Pierre Laporte.
• On October 17, Laporte’s body was discovered in the trunk of a
car.
• PM Trudeau agreed to broadcast the Manifestoover the radio, and
to transport 5 FLQ terrorists to Cuba in exchange for Cross’ release.
• Over the years most of these terrorists eventually returned to
Canada and received light sentences. 23 people wen to prison as a
result of the October Crisis. It was the first political kidnapping in
Canadian history.

11. • The War Measures Act was invoked by Trudeau in
response to the October Crisis.
• It gave the gov’t the power to take away certain civil
rights – the gov’t had the ability to arrest, question,
and detain suspects without charge for 90 days.
• The Act was invoked based on the belief that there
was a widespread conspiracy to overthrow the
gov’t.
• As a result, thousands of searches were conducted
and over 400 arrests were made.
• Membership in the FLQ became criminal, and all
political rallies were banned.

12. 2.) Bill 22, 1974
• Introduced by Liberal Premier Robert Bourassa.
• Made French the official language of Quebec and
strengthened French in the workplace.
• Children had to pass an English proficiency test
before being allowed to register at English schools
in Quebec.
• The purpose, fears that the French language might
disappear because of declining birth rates in
Quebec and immigration was increasing.

13. 3.) Bill 101, 1977
• The non-violent separatist, Parti Quebecois came to
power in the 1976 prov election dedicated to
winning independence for Quebec.
• Premier Rene Levesque proposed Bill 101 to replace
Bill 22.
• It required that French be the language used by
gov’ts, courts and businesses in Quebec and that
commercial signs be in French only.
• A change occurred with Bill 178, still requiring that
outdoor signs be in French, but allows indoor
commercial signs to be bilingual, providing French is
given priority (bigger font).

14. 1980s & 1990s
1.) Referendum, 1980
• A referendum is when a political issue is submitted
to a direct vote of all the citizens.
• The proposal was that Quebec would be an
independent state with control over its own taxes,
social policies, citizenship, and immigration, but
would maintain close econ ties with Canada.
• 90% of Quebecois voted, and 60% voted no.
• PM Trudeau promised Quebec a new constitutional
arrangement if the referendum was defeated and
kept his promise.

15. 2.) Constitutional Act, 1982
• Canada’s constitution, the BNA Act of 1867, was an
act of British Parliament and could only be changed
by Britain.
• PM Trudeau wanted the constitution to be
repatriated – brought home to Can, belong to
Canada and be able to be changed by Canadians.
• He met with the 10 premiers in Nov 1981 to draft
the new constitution.
• However, there were backroom deals being made
and on the last night of the meetings all the
premiers were awakened to look at last minute
revisions except for Quebec premier Rene Levesque

16. • Levesque and Quebec felt betrayed and did not
sign the new constitution.
• The new constitution included an amending
formula (gave provinces the ability to make
changes to the constitution) and also included
the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
• Quebec came to call this, “The Night of the Long
Knives,” as they felt betrayed by the PM and the
rest of Canada.

17. 3.) Meech Lake Accord, 1987
• PM Mulroney met with all ten premiers to change
the constitution to include Quebec.
• There were 5 main parts to the proposal:
a. Quebec would be considered a “distinct society”
b. 3 of the 9 Supreme Court judges were to come
from Quebec
c. Any amendments would require all 10 provs
d. Provs could choose to opt out of federal funding
e. Quebec would be able to control its own
immigration

18. • The “distinct society” clause was left open to
interpretation and worried many English-Canadians and
aboriginal people.
• Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Manitoba didn’t
ratify the Accord and it became a failure.
4.) Charlottetown Accord, 1992
• Another attempt was made to include Quebec in the
constitution.
• This time, the Accord made provisions for aboriginal
self-government, Senate reform, universal health care,
workers’ rights, and eviron protection.
• In a referendum done by each province, only 4 of the
10 approved it, as they felt that the provisions were too
large and daunting.

19. 5.) Referendum, 1995
• The rejection of Charlottetown left many French
Canadians feeling that the rest of Can was indifferent to
their wishes.
• Premier Jacques Parizeau (PQ) held another
referendum on the question of Quebec’s sovereignty –
to separate or not separate.
• In a heated campaign and attention across all of
Canada, the “no” side barely won with 50.6% of votes.
• Parizeau resigned and Lucien Bouchard took over with
every intention of calling for another referendum but
only under winning conditions.
• The question remained – could Quebec legally separate
from Canada on a unilateral basis, or did separation
require the consent of all of the provinces?

20. 6.) Supreme Court Decision, 1998
• It ruled that Quebec did not have the right to
separate unilaterally (decide by itself) from Canada.
• To achieve independence, Quebec must negotiate
with the fed gov’t, the 9 provs, the aboriginal
nations living in Quebec, and the other minorities
living there.
• Negotiations could begin only after a referendum in
which a “clear majority” voted “yes” to a “clear
question.”