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Conscription Crisis
The Conscription Crisis happened during WW1 and WW2. In WW1, the government promised Canada that there would not be any forced conscription. Things changed when the mortality rate was increasing. Britain wanted Canada to send more troops and so the PM was forced to conscript. Eventually in 1917 PM Borden introduced the Military Services Act, which included conscription. This made most angry and many were opposed. -
Khaki Election of 1917
With an upcoming election, Borden needed to gain more support, so he introduced the Military Voters Act which allowed men AND women serving overseas to vote. He also set in the Wartime Elections Act which allowed any women related to servicemen, and also took away the vote from any objectors or enemy aliens. PM Borden ended up winning the election. -
Duplessis Era
When The Great Depression hit in the 1930's, Quebec was facing problems and society was breaking apart. However, Premier Maurice Duplessis came to save Quebec (at least for a while) with the rise of "Union Nationale." At first everyone loved Duplessis, because he fought for the french language and blamed the english-canadians for the injustices. However, in his time of ruling Duplessis never made any real advancements for Quebec, and was apart of some very shady and corrupt things. -
Richard Riots
During a hockey game on March 13 1955, Montreal Canadiens player Maurice Richard hit a linesman and was suspended for the rest of the season and the playoffs. Fans felt this was an unfair call that was made because Richard was French. When Clarence Campbell (English President of the NHL) went to the first game Richard was suspended from, fans got angry and started a riot.This caused even more tension between the french and english and was the last straw for Quebec, which grew French Nationalism. -
The Quiet Revolution
When the Duplessis Era ended, a party came to power lead by Jean Lesage who enforced that Quebec needed a change- meaning no more darkness. He promised to improve the economic standards of Quebecois and to in a whole get more recognition towards the french culture in a healthy way, by not forcing the catholic church on everyone. The pay of French Canadians increased, and included the creation and nationalization of Hydro Quebec. He also improved the status of women, who were a minority before. -
FLQ
The FLQ (Front de libération du Québec) was a terrorist group that formed to support the "Free Quebec." Between 1963 and 1970 they set of bombs, killing and injuring many. They supported the separatist movement for Quebec, and their crimes were directed to people who caused them anger over their race. -
New Canadian Flag
In 1965, after a long time of complaints from citizens saying the flag was too British, Canada changed the flag. A maple leaf was used as a symbol on the new flag because it represented all Canadians. Many English citizens got mad because they felt Prime Minister Pearson was being to lenient towards the French, but nowadays the flag is mostly accepted by all, and a part of our history. -
President of France Speaks
The President of France Charles de Gaulle was invited to the Expo 67 that was being held in Quebec in 1967. When he was there he gave an inspiring speech to the people of Quebec that includes the famous quote "Vivre le Quebec Libre." This speech infuriated Prime Minister of Canada Lester B Pearson and caused strain between Canada and France until the death of De Gaulle in 1969. The speech ultimately inspired the separatists and the quote was used as a slogan. -
Birth of Separatism
In the 60's and 70's, many Quebec citizens knew they wanted a change in Canada and the lack of French recognition, but they did not know the solution. Eventually, the idea was brought up that Quebec should separate from Canada and have their own sovereign nation. So from there, the talk about separatism flourished and the start of parties that would support this came to life. -
Rene Levesque, PQ & Bill 22 and 101
After the October Crisis, a party called the Parti Quebecois and it's leader René Levesque rose to play. The party's main goal was separation. Quebec wanted to enforce the french culture again, and so they passed Bill 22 which made french the official language of the public service in Quebec. Bill 101 was a more severe version of Bill 22, as it made french be the official language of the the workplace and meant commercials could be shown only in french. This created french domination in Quebec. -
The Official Languages Act
This was a pivotal moment for Canada. In 1969 the government passed the law that officially made Canada bilingual, meaning all government services would be available to citizens in both English in French. Also, more French Canadians were given jobs in the government because of it. The French were happy, and some English were upset but it definitely united the two sides together a bit more. -
October Crisis
The October Crisis was a tragic affair that occurred October 5- December 28 in 1970. It involved the kidnapping of two government officials in Quebec by the FLQ. The FLQ kidnapped the provincial Deputy Premier Pierre Laporte (who was murdered) and British diplomat James Cross because the FLQ felt they were associated with the inequality they faced. Prime Minister Trudeau put in the War Measures Act, which was the first time it was used during a time of peace. -
Quebec's First Referendum
In 1980, Canada was shaken by the call of a referendum in Quebec. René Levesque had worked with the PQ to create this. Less than 20% of Quebecois supported independence because they feared that if they separated they wouldn't be able to support themselves and ultimately be taken over by the Americans. The referendum ended with 40% yes and 60% no. However his did not mean that Quebecois were satisfied, many wanted a change in Quebec in some way. -
PM Trudeau Brings Home the Constitution
PM Trudeau was against separation, and he tried to use his power to keep Canada whole. After the 1980 election, he promised the Quebecois that he would make changes to the constitution and bring it to Canada. That's exactly what he did in 1982, however there was some complications. At first many of the provinces did not agree to this as they felt they'd lose their power... Continued: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cVI11EYmGA3nbnOOW4Hwf3etwIcbi95uc5jDz00VeAE/edit -
Quebec's Second Referendum
In 1995, the PQ in Quebec held a second referendum. The results ended with 50.6% for the "no" side. The close call caused the creation of The Clarity Act of 1999 which ruled that Quebec could not separate without consulting the federal government, the other 9 provinces and the minorities living in Quebec as well.
