Transcript The October Crisis

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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_a2wa2dd4
• A curfew was declared in
Montreal and the Army was
called in
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-laprochaine-fois-the-1980-quebec-referendum/im-just-a-girl-who-mustsay-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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ygdKavHX
dA
and “the ethnic vote”
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