-
Jan 1, 1500
First Occupants
They had no elected central governing body, however: Iroquois follow a matriarchy Algonquin follow a patriarchy -
Relations between French and Amerindians
The French allied with the Hurons and the Montagnais, looking to control the fur trade. In wars, the FNP were in the "Petite Guerre" which was guerrilla warfare. -
New France's Settlers
Settlers had happy lives, but it was work.
They had to care for crops, make clothes, fix tools, and prepare for winter. They became known as Canadiens, who needed to take care of themselves, due to the low development. 3 levels of civilians:
Nobility elite: Governor, intendant, and councillors
Middle Class/Bourgeoisie: Seigneurs and richer merchants
Peasants/Habitants/Artisans: Censitaires who worked the land, Craftsmen They thrived because of less control held over them by France. -
The French State's Power
After the chartered companies (1608-1663), the French monarchy took back control of its American colonies. King Louis XIV was making his kingdom absolutist. From 1663 to 1760, Canada lived under the Royal Administration, which consisted of: King and Minister of Marine
Governor
Intendant
Sovereign council
Bishop
Captain of the Militia
Subjects These roles are in the order of power that they were ranked in the colony or in the mother country. -
Collaboration of State and Catholic Church
Church was automatically involved in political decisions because of its role in the sovereign council.
Priests were missionaries, in charge of the parishes.
Nuns worked in hospitals and education. The church had a monopoly on religious matters, and they expected the people to be Catholic and practice was obligatory.
Church would encourage the people to listen to the governor and intendant, in exchange, the church was allowed the tithe, and had insurance that religious matters were respected. -
Great Peace of Montreal
40 aboriginal nations agreed to consider the king of France their father and allowed the governor general to resolve their disputes and help France in wars. -
Articles of Capitualation
The 7 year war in Europe broke out in the colonies as well
NF is left to defend itself. The english won French Militia could go home, and did not lose their properties.
The French military would lay down their arms and leave.
The people could still practice their Roman Catholic religion but the Bishop would have to leave.
The people who stayed, would now become British subjects.
The French elite left because they could afford to do so and had a chance to still live as elite in France. -
Royal Proclamation
This comes after British Military rule, and the Treaty of Paris
The Royal Proclamation:
Renames the colony; The province of Quebec.
Decreases the borders to around the St Lawrence Valley.
Civilian Government, King appointed a Governor who appointed members to the Executive Council.
English Criminal and civil law were applied
No new bishop would be allowed
No Roman Catholics could hold office (Test Act) GOAL: TO ASSIMILATE THE FRENCH -
Situation in BNA
British:
Merchants were unhappy because they wanted an elected assembly and expected the colony to favour British interests. Canadiens:
Fearful of the new changes the Proclamation brought, and eased a little with the Quebec Act, but not seen as equals. 13 Colonies:
Americans needed British Protection from the French.
Upset they didn’t get control of the Ohio valley.
James Murray and Guy Carleton bent the rules to please the French because he needed their loyalty. -
Quebec Act
At this time, the American Revolution is happening, and there was fear that the French would join the rebellion. The Quebec Act:
Guaranteed French Canadian Loyalty.
Enlarged the area of Quebec to include the Great Lakes once again.
Still denied an elected assembly
Did allow for an appointed council
French civil laws were re-instated
Test Oath Act was replaced with an Oath of Allegiance (Loyal to King = Hold Office) -
America comes to fruition
After the American war of independence, many people did not want to remain in America. The only British colony left is Canada. 36 000 loyalists come to Canada, and Settled in Maritimes or around the Great Lakes. 6 000 loyalists came to Quebec, who settled West of Montreal or the Eastern Townships.
Changes:
English population of Quebec goes from 1% to 10%
Settled using townships instead of seigneuries
The loyalists wanted:
English civil laws
Elected Assemblies
Demanded changes in Quebec. -
Constitutional Act
Quebec split up into Upper and Lower Canada. The ottawa river was the separation between the two canadas. Upper Canada (apx. 20 000 people)
Entirely english
Protestant, used the townships system, and english civil laws Lower Canada (apx. 160 000 people)
Mostly french people (with 10% loyalists and merchants)
Kept catholic religion, french civil laws, and francophones could now work in the administration of Lower Canada. -
Representative Government (1)
Governor general:
Had veto power
Lieutenant Governor
Acted as deputy general
Executive council
Appointed by the Governor to advise him
Legislative council
Appointed to approve or reject laws from the assembly.
Legislative assembly
People elected every 4 years. They had the power to approve or disapprove taxes. They also had the right to create laws.
Ordinary people
Right to vote for the first time, but only land-owning men over 21. -
Faults in Representative Government (2)
The Representative Government was a Big Step forward, however, there were faults. Legislative Assembly had the power to make laws but were shut down by the Governor and council’s right to veto.
The wealthy wanted to invest into businesses and tax properties so they could build canals and railways.
The L.A. wanted to tax goods, not property, and didn’t want to invest in big projects that they could not benefit from.
This situation was worse in Lower Canada of the constant battles over language. -
Immigration and population changes
During this time period, there was an increase in immigration because of the Loyalists and the Irish. From 1791 to 1861, the population of Lower Canada increased by over a million, and in Upper Canada by almost 1.4 million. -
Political Parties
In Upper Canada:
Two dominent political parties:
Family Compact: Wealthy British Tories
Reformers: Intellectuals and Professionals In Lower Canada, two political parties dominated: British Party: Wealthy British and French who supported British rule; true power brokers. Parti Canadien (Parti Patriotes): Wealthy and poor French; Early separatists; intellectuals and professionals; unhappy with power. -
Concerns in Lower Canada
Concerns in Lower Canada
British merchants wanted to increase taxes for canals, harbours, and roads for merchant use, Few roads were built to help farmers. Increased immigration from GB began to threaten French culture and language.
1832, immigrant ships brought disease cholera, killed 5500.
Legislative assembly had to make laws:
1836, Crops failed: Canadians face starvation.
1837, economic depression: English merchants blamed. -
Concerns in Upper Canada
Responsible Government was the major concern
Continued immigration to increase the English presence in Canada
New immigrants from Great Britain bringing values of parliamentary democracy
Reduction in the role of Church of England in taxes and affairs
Reducing the power of values of traditionalism and conservatism
Stronger voice for Elected Assembly
Reduced voice for the Family Compact
No veto powers -
92 Resolutions and its Aftermath
Louis Joseph Papineau, the leader of the Parti Patriote, wrote a letter containing the demands of the assembly in 1834.
The main demand was for a Responsible Government. Members on the council should be chosen from the elected assembly.
The document was sent to London.
Papineau led the rebellions in Lower Canada, but the British army defeated the Patriote rebels. These battles left 325 dead, 27 of them soldiers and the rest rebels. 99 captured militants were condemned to death, but sent away. -
10 Russel Resolutions
GB rejects the request for an elected council
Instead of gaining power, the elected assembly actually lost some power
The governor, Lord Gosford, now had the power to take money from the provincial treasury to pay the officials in the colony.
This really upsets the Patriotes and thus begins the demonstrations that eventually lead to the rebellions. -
Church's New Power
After 1837, the bishops became more and more powerful, the cures became the most important people in the parish.
Church was still in charge of registering births, marriages, deaths, and controlling education.
Orphanages, Shelters, charities, religious festivals.
Church attendance was very high
Protestants were divided. Protestant Universities: McGill, Bishops.
As we move into the 1900s, Church becomes more involved in politics, Influencing the Unions and the caisses populaires -
Great depression
High volume of unemployment, meaning governments are looking to get into power.
Direct payments and the welfare state arise to appease the citizens and get them to vote for that party
Unemployment insurance
Family allowances.
Conscription Crisis #2
Equalization payments introduced in 1957.
The union Nationale are in power in 1936-1939 for one term and the following changes are made:
Voting rights for women.
Compulsory education until age 14
Nationalization of Electricity in Montreal -
Maurice Duplessis
He defended:
Provincial autonomy
Idealization of rural life (promote traditional values)
Agriculture should be at the heart of QC’s economy.
Intervention (QC government should not intervene)
Church Other nationalist Policies by Duplessis
Fleur de Lis Flag in 1948
Provincial income tax 1954
1951: refused subsidies for QC universities based on education being provincial jurisdiction
He also opposed federal allowance payments on the same grounds. -
Duplessis' Challengers
Union leaders
They say he served the american investors, and not the Quebec workers. Strikes were held at this time period, like the Asbestos strike of 1949, which even had some of the church officials supporting the strikes. 1937 Padlock Law: Duplessis Government made it illegal to strike or promote communist ideas. Intellectuals, Journalists
Pierre Elliot Trudeau and Rene Levesque opposed Duplessis and attacked the conservative ways of his society through newspapers, magazines and television -
The Quiet Revolution
The liberals take power under Jean Lesage from 1960 to 1966. Driven by cultural and political assertion of Quebecers and the desire for a government with a more interventionist role, Jean Lesage was a lawyer and a federal politician for 4 terms in the Federal Parliament with the Liberals and ran for head of the Quebec Liberal Party in 1958. In 1960 he captained with the slogan: c’est le temps que ca change; It’s time to change. In 1962 His slogan was: Maitres chez nous, Masters in our own house -
Nationalism in Quebec from 1960
More and More people proposed political sovereignty as the only solution to the problems facing Quebec.
1963: RIN (Rassemblement Independence National)
1967: MSA (Mouvement Souverainete Association)
Charles de Gaulle (French General/President) speaks
1968: RIN + MSA = PQ (Parti Quebecois)
1976: PQ comes to power
1963: FLQ (Front de Liberation de Quebec) -
Language Laws in Quebec
1961: Lesage (liberal) creates the Office de la langue francaise was created to promote the French Language. 1974: Bourassa (liberal) adopts the Official Language Act, Bill 22, making French the official language of Quebec. 1977: Levesque (PQ) enacts the Charter of the French Language, Bill 101, making it compulsory for immigrant children to go to French school, forced large companies to adopt french and imposed french on public signs. -
1st Referendum on an independent Quebec
Federalists - Quebec Stays
Separatist - Quebec Leaves Why?
Cultural differences, oppressive struggle since conquest had many Quebecois seeing themselves independent from Canada and not Canadians.
1980 - Referendum on sovereignty-association (Rene Levesque’s PQ)
Quebec would still keep the economic benefits of being part of Canada but be a politically independent nation.
No side won with about 60% of the vote. -
Responces to the first referendum
In response to the referendum of 1980, Trudeau attempted to unify the country by patriating the constitution ⇾ Meaning, independence from Great Britain. All provinces agreed, except Quebec, but the Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms were implemented in 1982. Still to this day, Quebec has not signed the Constitution. In 1984, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney tried to organize a deal to amend the constitution that would satisfy Quebec and the other provinces. -
Meech Lake Accord and Charlottetown Agreement
Meech Lake Accord: Written with various reforms but Manitoba and Newfoundland refused to ratify it. Charlottetown Agreement: Written with reforms and included recognizing aboriginal and Quebec rights. Premiers agreed but then a Canadian Referendum on the agreement was voted against by the people. -
2nd Referendum on an independent Quebec
Constitutional agreement failed because
English Canada refused to give Quebec special status
Quebec’s mixed feelings towards independence weekend their negotiations.
Other groups saw QC making demands and wanted their interests heard as well. 1994: PQ returns to Power under Jacques Parizeau
1995: Referendum on sovereignty
This time, the vote was for a completely independent Quebec.
No side won, with 50.6% of the vote.
