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World War One Conscription Crisis
The World War One Conscription Crisis was caused by the government introducing conscription. Conscription was mandatory participation in the war. The government implemented this because they didn't have enough people joining the military. The Prime Minister believed in a strong Canadian contribution to the war. This became a crisis because French Canadians were strongly against it while English Canadians supported it. -
Creation of the Union Nationale Party
The Union Nationale was a Quebec political party founded in 1935 and dissolved in 1989. Between 1936 and 1966 the party won six provincial elections. Maurice Duplessis was the leader of the party until his death in 1959. The Union Nationale defended provincial autonomy, conservatism and rural life -
World War Two Conscription Crisis
When a threat of war in Europe became serious the question of conscription caused a lot of debate. In March 1939 both parties accepted to reject conscription for overseas combat. When Canada declared war in September 1939, the government renewed its promises not to send soldiers overseas. In June 1940 as Belgium and France became occupied by Nazi Germany, Canadians wanted Canada to put more effort into the war. In 1941 Mackenzie King held a non-binding referendum, allowing conscription. -
The Duplesiss Era/The Great Darkness 1936-1939 & 1944-1959
The Great Darkness refers to the time when Maurice Duplessis was the Premier of Quebec. It was called The Great Darkness by his critics but was referred to as the greatest time in Quebec history by traditional conservatives. -
The Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution was a period of time experienced in Quebec during the 1960s. During this time, society was moving away from the highly conservative Union Nationale party that was in power since 1944. This caused a liberal victory at the following June 22, 1960 election. The battle was well captured by the popular liberal party slogan, "it's time for a change". -
Front de liberation du Quebec
Founded in 1963, the Front de liberation du Quebec was a separatist, paramilitary terrorist group. In all, the group was responsible for over 200 bombings in Quebec -
Separatist Movement
The recently re-emerged separatist movement was highly popular in Quebec at the time and a large part of the politics. The most influential leftist party at the time was the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance Nationale (RIN), which began in 1960 as a citizen's movement and actually became a political party in March of 1963. -
Bi & Bi Commission
Led by the government of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson; was a royal commission to look into state and condition of bilingualism and biculturalism in Canada. It was established in 1963 with the purpose of looking over the relations of French and English Canada, as well as Quebec's role. -
Canada's New Flag
After raising the Canadian Red Ensign since it's creation, Canadians decided it was time for a new flag in 1965. It only made sense, as Canada had been separated from Britain and recognized as a self-governing state for almost 100 years up to this point. Furthermore, Canada had shown that they were more than just the little brother of the UK and could hold their own as an influential nation. So, Canada abandoned its union flag and used the maple leaf in order to further establish individuality. -
Colourblind Immigration Policy
In 1962, Ottawa ended racial discrimination in the Canadian immigration system. Then, in 1967 they introduced a points system to rank immigrants and determine potential candidates. -
Pierre Trudeau as Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minister of Canada, was elected with his liberal party in 1968, serving two terms all the way until 1984. He is in third place for the longest serving Prime Minister. -
Official Languages Act
This law gave French and English people equal status when it came to the government of Canada. This also made French and English the two official languages of Canada, meaning any usage of these languages when it comes to the law is preferred (in comparison to any other). -
The War Measures Act 1970
The War Measures Act, which was put in place during WW1 in order to give government power during times of war/insurrection, was invoked once again during the 1970 Quebec October crisis. More recently, it has been replaced by the Emergencies Act. -
FLQ Crisis (October Crisis)
On October 5th of 1970, Quebec terrorist group, the Front de Liberation du Quebec kidnapped the British diplomat/trade commissioner James Cross. This would lead to the subsequent kidnapping and murder of Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte -
Policy of Multiculturalism
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his government declared their commitment to the idea of multiculturalism in Canada, creating a policy to protect and promote diversity, support Canada's national languages, and recognize the rights of the Aboriginal peoples. -
Bill 22 introduced by Robert Bourassa
Bill 22, AKA the Official Language Act of 1974, led by Premier Robert Bourassa of Quebec, made French the official language of Quebec. -
Bill 101 introduced by Parti Quebecois, Rene Levesque
The election of the Parti Quebecois introduced a new government and ideas for the popular Bill 101. It was eventually officially introduced by Rene Levesque. -
Immigration policy moves to ‘sponsorship program’
As part of the 1976 Immigration Act of Canada, a new sponsorship program was added. This allowed for any Canadian citizen to, when authorized, sponsor the application of any potential refugee/immigrant. -
Parti Quebecois wins provincial election in Quebec
Held on November 15th, 1976 to elect members for the National Assembly of the province of Quebec. The Parti Quebecois, led by Rene Levesque, came out victorious over the Quebec liberal party. -
Bill 101 passed
The Charter of the French Language, or Bill 101, was put in place on August 26, 1977 in order to establish French as the official majority language in Quebec, as well as the official language of the provincial government. -
Referendum on Sovereignty Association (include the results of the referendum)
Held on 20 May 1980, the referendum for the sovereignty-association plan resulted in an 85.61% participation rate, of which 59.56% of voters rejected the idea. It was estimated that an approximate 50% of francophone voters supported the idea. -
Patriation of the Constitution.
In 1982, Canada was "patriated" from the influence of the British. In this, the country's highest law was transferred from the authority of the British Parliament to Canada's federal and provincial legislatures. -
Constitution Act
This act in 1982 completed Canada's constitution, adding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and most importantly, allowing Canadians to amend their own constitution without the approval from Britain. -
Brian Mulroney becomes Prime Minister
Serving as the 18th prime minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney was elected into office on September 17, 1984. He served for approximately 9 years, with his conservative party. -
Meech Lake Accord
The Meek lake was a signed agreement between the 10 provinces and the federal government of Canada, in regards to Quebec's issues, to fully recognize the province as a "distinct society". -
Reform Party Created
The Reform Party of Canada was a political party, founded as a western-based protest movement, from 1997-2000. While it was ragtag at first, it quickly became a popular conservative group.
It was based off of the needs for democratic reform as well as the disliking of Brian Mulroney's federal government. -
Department of Multiculturalism Formed
A law passed by the Canadian government at the time called for moving towards a multicultural society. Canada was growing, but particularly in immigrants.
The "Canadian Multiculturalism Act" solved all of this by stating how multiculturalism plays a crucial role in Canada's fate and the future. Many government departments and facilities were created or directed towards the common goal of promoting this cause -
Meech Lake Accords Cont.
All provinces along with Meech Lake approve an accord to ensure the protection of Quebec culture; It also addressed others at the same time, offering the same promise for all cultures and ethnicities. The most important effect though was for the minority language rights. Many cultures/languages may not have survived without tt. -
Bloc Quebecois Formed
Bloc Quebecois, a federal political party in Canada with the aim of promoting Quebec nationalism and sovereignty, is founded. -
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord was a package of proposals for amendments to the constitution of Canada, proposed by Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. They were submitted to a public referendum on October 26th and were defeated. -
Parti Quebecois returned to power
The Parti Quebecois reigns victorious in the September 1994 Quebec provincial election with 44.7% of seats. This was after about 9 years as official opposition. -
Referendum on Sovereignty Association
In 1995, Quebec holds yet another referendum to determine whether or not the province should attain national sovereignty. The referendum took place on October 30 and was defeated by less than 5,500 votes. -
Clarity Bill and the Supreme Court decision
Bill C-20, also known as the Clarity Act, was introduced in 1998 to introduce conditions under which the Canadian government could intervene in such conversations such as succession if a vote may come to one of the provinces. The first reading of the bill was on 3 December 1999, and it was later passed by the house of Commons on 15 March 2000 and the Senate on 29 June 2000.
