Official Power & Countervailing Power History of Quebec & Canada

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Confederation occurs in 1867 with the British North America Act: Division of power between the federal and provincial governments becomes a major issue This results in Nationalist movements in Quebec Industrialization increases the power of financial and industrial groups Aboriginals, unions and women fought for more rights These interest groups forced the government to become more involved

MAP BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT - 1867

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 The roles of the Federal Government include: Jurisdiction over trade, defence, diplomacy, currency and banking The right to collect various types of taxes Enact laws (in emergencies, they could be provincial laws) Disallow any provincial law that is contrary to national interests

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 The roles of the Provincial Government include: Education Health Roads Natural resources During the first 30 years, the rights of the Federal Government were diminishing and infringements were only made in crisis situations. More tax revenues were given to the provinces: The government was becoming decentralized and provinces were gaining more sovereignty.

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 French Canadien Nationalism increased after Confederation: In 1885, the hanging of Louis Riel ( a Metis leader) was interpreted by many as an anti-French and anti-Catholic gesture French felt that the Federal Government did not protect the rights of Franco-Catholic minorities French Canadians wanted more autonomy

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 World War I had major consequences for Federal-Provincial relations: War Measures Act in 1914 – Ottawa took ultimate control over the provinces Provincial tax revenues were reduced Conscription Crisis in 1917 – Caused relations between French and English Canadians to deteriorate (French felt that it was not their war to fight) About 40,000 French Canadian conscripts refused to serve These events further encouraged the emergence of French Canadian Nationalism

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Changes in Power for the Natives: The Metis people led by Louis Riel protested against the Federal government and demanded more rights. The rebellions prompted the Government to take action to prevent this from happening in the other provinces. The Federal Government encouraged natives to give up their lands, for the establishment of reserves. This allowed for further expansion and colonization in the West In 1876 the Canadian Government adopted the Indian Act which considered native people to be minors and took away most of their rights and influence

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Changes in Power for Industrialists and workers: Economy and industrialization is essential for increasing a country’s wealth Governments supported initiatives to improve business: Subsides Laws Infrastructure development The National Policy in 1879: promoted industrialization

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 But workers were fighting for better conditions and wages: Previously workers had little or no means to improve their working conditions After Confederation, the number of unions increased drastically and workers demanded: Better wages Shorter work week Better safety conditions Child labour laws Protection against unemployment Capitalists attempted to prevent the creation of unions and laid off striking workers or those who were involved

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Increasing pressure was being put on employers and the Government: Government did not want to support workers, because of the important contributions of capitalist employers, but could not ignore the workers because of their voting powers. Various acts are introduced over the years to improve conditions, but they were not always enforced Governments tended to repress strike movements by force and still sided with the employers

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Changes for the power of women: In 1918 all women were granted the right to vote in Federal elections This was a direct result of the imposition of the Conscription Crisis (PM, Robert Borden used women’s suffrage to increase his popularity ) In Quebec, political and religious leaders opposed the feminist movements Women in Quebec only gain the right to vote in provincial election in 1940

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Some Important Events The Great Depression and WWII: The depression and WWII required greater state intervention in areas of health, welfare, and education Most provinces support this, but Quebec did not The second conscription crisis in 1944 made matters worse Prime Minister Mackenzie King promised not to enforce Conscription and won because of this promise Eventually though, conscription was necessary Quebec members of Parliament resigned in protest and formed their own party, Bloc Populaire

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Some Important Events Duplessis (Union Nationale) and the “La Grande NOIRCEUR”: After the War, the state continued to intervene in the provincial economy: Duplessis refused Federal funding for major projects He encouraged traditional society through the spread of Catholicism and agriculture This caused Quebec society to remain backwards with respect to other provinces and support for him diminished: Intellectuals, unions, feminists opposed Duplessis’ policies Duplessis died in 1959, and soon after Jean Lesage and the Liberals took over

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Some Important Events Jean Lesage and the Quiet Revolution: Transforms power relationships in the province More government involvement and funding Government becomes a major employer (public service sector) New ministries and institutions (health care and insurance systems, Ministere de la Culture, Ministere de L’Education) Catholic Church looses most of its power Emergence of a powerful Francophone business class Unions exercise more influence over the government

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Some Important Events Quebec Nationalism and the Linguistic Crisis: In the 1960s the average salary of a French Quebecer was 65% less than that of Anglophone Quebecers Immigrants were adopting the English language rather than French, and sending their children to English Schools Language legislation tried to prevent Quebec from becoming Anglicized Bill 22 (Robert Bourassa): French official language of Quebec Bill 101 (Rene Levesque): Immigrants had to attend French schools, companies had to adopt French, French on all signs Language laws were not met without controversy and caused many Anglophones to leave Quebec in fear of separation

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Some Important Events Quebec Nationalism and the Linguistic Crisis: Many nationalists began to think that the only way to preserve the French culture was through sovereignty Three separatist groups joined forces in 1968 to form the Parti Quebecois (came to power in 1976) FLQ and the October Crisis (powerful demonstrations for sovereignty) Trudeau’s invocation of the War Measures Act further infuriated Nationalist who felt it was unnecessary for the Federal Government to intervene in such a way

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD – SINCE 1867 Some Important Events Quebec Nationalism and the Linguistic Crisis: A Referendum was called in 1980 splitting Quebec’s population No side won with 59.56% of the vote Yes side had 40.46% of the vote The close call fuelled more Nationalist debates, but there would not be another referendum until 1995 No side won again with only 50.6% of the vote