French-English Relations in Canada During The Cold War The October Crisis and The 1980 and 1995 Quebec Referendums

The October Crisis

The Quiet Revolution 1960-1966 is a period known as the Quiet Revolution in Quebec A period of dramatic change that would revolutionize the province The goal was to maintain Quebec’s French, Language and Culture As new policies were put in place, Quebec became a confident and proud province.

BUT… A small group believed Quebec would only be freed from Canada through violent revolution The “Front de Liberation du Quebec” (FLQ) began a war of liberation in Quebec This radical group of separatists carried out bombings on federal property. They were organized into “cells” – small groups of people – and communicated by secret code

Oct. 5, 1970 FLQ Kidnapped James Cross, a British Diplomat , from his Montreal home If demands were not met, Cross would be executed: $500 000 randsom TV/Radio time to broadcast their views Safe passage out of Canada FLQ hoped this kidnapping would spark a wave of violence that would result in Quebec separation from Canada

Oct 10, 1970 Pierre Laporte, Quebec Minister of Labour, was kidnapped at gun point while playing football outside his home This second kidnapping caused panic and unrest for Quebec People were frustrated that the cases were not solved

SO… Quebec’s Premier asked the Federal government for help PM Trudeau asked Parliament to proclaim The War Measures Act RECALL P.M. Borden passed the War Measures Act during WWI when Canada feared immigrants who had recently arrived from enemy countries It gave police special powers to search, question and detain suspects without cause or reason. A curfew was declared in Montreal and the Army was called in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7_a2wa2dd4

Oct. 17, 1970 Police received a tip about an abandoned car The body of Pierre Laporte was found in the trunk – strangled with the chain of his own religious medal

Nov. 6, 1970 One of Laporte’s kidnappers was found in a closet in a Montreal Apartment Other kidnappers were hiding behind a partition in the same closet – police were unaware

Dec. 3, 1970 James Cross was found alive Police and soldiers surrounded the house where he was being held Cross had been held for nine weeks A deal for his release is negotiated: FLQ kidnappers released Cross into the custody of the Cuban Consul The kidnappers were flown to Cuba

The Lasting Results of the October Crisis People lost faith in the government’s ability to protect society and their civil rights 500 people were arrested and held in custody for up to 3 weeks merely on suspicion Most were released without charges Sympathy for the FLQ in Quebec was over

The Lasting Results of the October Crisis Separatists were determined to use peaceful methods Many French and English Canadians became aware of their true feelings about the issue of dividing our country and resolved to work even harder at cooperation and understanding

The First Quebec Referendum May 20, 1980

The Question "The Government of Quebec has made public its proposal to negotiate a new agreement with the rest of Canada, based on the equality of nations; this agreement would enable Quebec to acquire the exclusive power to make its laws, levy its taxes and establish relations abroad — in other words, sovereignty — and at the same time to maintain with Canada an economic association including a common currency; any change in political status resulting from these negotiations will only be implemented with popular approval through another referendum; on these terms, do you give the Government of Quebec the mandate to negotiate the proposed agreement between Quebec and Canada?"

The ‘Yes’ Side The ‘Yes’ side was led by the Parti-Quebecois (a provincial separatist party) Their leader was Rene Levesque

Why Separate? The people of Quebec were upset with the Federal Government under Trudeau for their handling of the October Crisis There was a history of bad blood between Quebec and the rest of Canada dating back almost 400 years The Parti-Quebec won 69 out of 110 seats in a provincial election in 1976 giving them a mandate to pursue sovereignty

The ‘No’ Side The ‘No’ side was led by the provincial Liberal Party and the Canadian Government Their leader was Pierre Elliot Trudeau, PM of Canada and Provincial Liberal Leader Claude Ryan

The Turning Point Both parties fought hard to win the votes of the people through speeches, pamphlets and television ads Lise Payette mobilized women against sovereignty when she referred to those who opposed sovereignty as Yvettes (a woman from a primary reader who stays home and cooks while her husband goes off for adventures) After this, the ‘no’ side started winning public support http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/federal-politics/a-la-prochaine-fois-the-1980-quebec-referendum/im-just-a-girl-who-must-say-no.html

The Referendum and Results The referendum took place on May 20, 1980 The results were: 60% non 40% oui 85% of eligible voters came to the polls

The Effects of the Referendum Despite their referendum loss, the Parti-Quebecois were re-elected in 1981 Quebec refused to sign on to the Constitution in 1982 The rest of Canada made two attempts to get Canada to sign on to the Constitution with the Meech Lake Accord and The Charlottetown Accord Quebec passed language laws to protect their French culture

The Second Quebec Referendum October 30, 1995

The Question “Do you agree that Quebec should become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Quebec and of the agreement signed on June 12, 1995?.”

The ‘Yes’ Side The ‘Yes’ side was led by the Parti-Quebecois (a provincial separatist party) and the Bloc Quebecois (a federal separatist party) Their leaders were Jacques Parizeau (Premier of Quebec) and Lucien Bouchard (Leader of the Official Opposition)

Why Separate? There was a history of bad blood between Quebec and the rest of Canada dating back almost 400 years The Parti-Quebec regained power in Quebec running on a platform of holding an early referendum The Bloc Quebecois won enough seats to become the Official Opposition in the House of Commons Both attempts at getting Quebec to sign on to the Constitution had failed

The ‘No’ Side The ‘No’ side was led by the provincial Liberal Party and the Canadian Government (other than the Bloc Quebecois) Their leader was Jean Chretien, PM of Canada and Provincial Liberal Leader Daniel Johnson Jr.

The Turning Point Three days before the vote on October 27th, The Canadian Government sponsored a unity rally in Montreal to convince people to vote ‘No’ After losing, Jacques Parizeau blamed the loss on big business money and “the ethnic vote” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ygdKavHXdA

The Referendum and Results The referendum took place on October 30, 1995 The results were: 50.6% non 49.4% oui

The Effects of the Referendum Jacques Parizeau resigned from politics and returned to private life The Clarity Act was brought in to make sure that if the province tried to separate again, that the rules for such a referendum would be fair Quebec was represented as a ‘Distinct Society’ by the Federal Government