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Nov 25, 1500
First Occupants
Technically, no one is in power for the First Occupants. However, the Algonquian communities follow a patriarchal organization, and the Iroquoians follow a matriarchal society. -
Period: Nov 25, 1500 to
Official Power and Countervailing Power
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Collaboration between State and Catholic Church
The Church was involved in political decisions because of its role in the sovereign council. Priests acted as missionaries and were in charge of the parishes. Nuns worked in the hospitals and some education. The Church had a monopoly on religious matters. People were expected to be practicing Catholics. The Church would encourage the population to listen to the governor and intendant, in exchange the Church was allowed the tithe and hd insurance that religious matters were respected. -
Life in New France
Settlers had happy lives but they had to work hard. They had to care for crops, make clothes, fix tools and prepare for winter at all times. They became autonomous and known as Canadiens. After Conquest a lot of people remained in British North America. The three levels of civilians were the Elite, the Middle Class and the Peasants. These distinct groups thrived because of the distance from France because the King had less direct control compared to France. -
The Power of the State
After the chartered companies period from 1608 to 1663, the French monarchy took back control of its American colonies. The young King Louis XIV set to making his kingdom absolutist. From 1663 to 1760, Canada lived under Royal Administration. -
Royal Government
In the Royal Government, the King and Minister of Marine remained in France. The Governor had the highest rank in the colony. He was the commander of army, in charge of defence and he dealt with external affairs. The intendant was the most influential person. He was the chief administrator and controlled the budget by collecting taxes. He separated the land based on the seigneurial system and he built up industries. The sovereign council was the colony's highest court including the governor... -
Royal Government (continued)
... bishop, intendant, and several councillors. The bishop administered over the Parish, priests, hospitals, schools and charities. The Captain of Militia acts like a chief of police. He dealt with issues on the seigneuries but had no seat on the council. -
Power Relations the French and Amerindians
The French allied with the Hurons and Montagnais because they were looking for control over the fur trade. In 1701, the Great Peace of Montreal was signed. 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. This resulted in close to 60 years of peace. -
Articles of Capitulation
The French militia could return home and no one would lose their property. The French military would lay down their arms and leave. People could still practice their Roman Catholic religion but the bishop would have to leave. The people who stay become British subjects. The French Elite left because they could still afford to do so and had a chance to still live as elite in France. -
Royal Proclamation
After Quebec capitulates, the colony comes under British military rule until the 7 years war ends. The Treaty of Paris cedes New France to the King of England. It renames the colony the Province of Quebec. It decreases the borders to around the St Lawrence Valley. It also introduces a civilian government. English criminal and civil law are used. No new bishop is allowed and Romans Catholics can not hold office. -
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act guarantees French Canadian loyalty. The territory is enlarged to include the Great Lakes again. An elected assembly is still denied. An appointed council is allowed. French civil law is reinstated and the Test Oath Act is replaced with an Oath of Allegiance. -
Situation in North America
The British merchants who came were unhappy because they wanted an elected assembly and expected the colony to favour British interests.The Americans were upset they didn't get control of the Ohio Valley after helping the British. The Canadiens were afraid of the changes brought with the Royal Proclamation. They felt a bit better with the Quebec Act.
Governor James Murray and Guy Carleton bent the rules to please the French because they were the majority and he needed their loyalty. -
America Comes to Fruition
After the American War of Independence, people remain loyal to the King of Britain and do not want to remain in America. The only British colony left is Canada so around 36000 loyalists come to Canada. They settle in the maritimes and around the Great Lakes. 6000 come to Quebec and settle West of Montreal and in the Eastern Townships. They raise the English population to 10%. They settle using townships. They were not happy so they petition London to demand changes to the way QC was being run. -
Faults in the Representative Government
The Legislative Assembly had the power to make laws but were more often than not shot down by the Governor and council’s right to veto. This was because they had different interests.
The wealthy wanted to invest into big business and tax property so they could build canals and railways. The L.A wanted to tax goods.
This situation was worse in Lower Canada because the L.A was French and there were constant battles over language. -
Constitutional Act
Quebec splits into Upper and Lower Canada. The Ottawa River is used as a boundary between the two. Upper Canada is composed of 20000 English Protestants who use English civil law and the township system. Lower Canada is composed of 160000 French Catholic people and French civil law. It introduces representative government which was a big step forward because for the first time the people have the right to vote and elect a legislative assembly. -
Political Parties in Upper Canada
Upper Canada had a representative government.
In Upper Canada, two political parties dominated: Family Compact made of wealthy British Tories (Conservatives).
Reformers made of intellectuals and professionals. -
Political Parties in Lower Canada
Lower Canada had a representative government.
Two political parties dominated:
British Party (Chateau Clique and Tories): Wealthy British and French who supported British rule; true power brokers.
Parti Canadien (Parti Patriote): Wealthy and poor French; early separatists; intellectuals and professionals; unhappy with power. -
Concerns in Upper and Lower Canada
Lower Canada:
British merchants wanted to increase taxes for canals, harbours and roads for merchant use. French culture and language was threatened. In 1832, 5500 people were killed by a disease brought on an immigrant ship. In 1836 there is a starvation and in 1837 and economic depression.
Upper Canada:
Responsible Government was a big concern. Reduced role of the Church. Reduced voice for the Family Compact. English presence increases through immigration. -
92 Resolutions
In 1834, Louis Joseph Papineau, the leader of the Parti Patriote, wrote a letter which had the demands of the assembly. They mainly wanted a responsible government. The document was sent to London to be seen and discussed. -
10 Russell Resolutions
All of the requests were denied and some of the elected assembly's power was even taken away. In the response the rejected the request for an elected assembly. The Governor got power to take money from the provincial treasury. This upsets the Patriotes and starts demonstrations that lead to the rebellion. -
The Actual Fighting
William Lyon Mackenzie led the rebellion in Upper Canada. It was dealt with quickly. Papineau led the rebellion in Lower Canada.
It consisted of the battles of St. Charles, St. Denis and St. Eustache.
Finally, the British army overpowered the militia Patriote rebels.
They were poorly organized and not well equipped to fight these skirmishes either -
Aftermath
99 captured militants were condemned to death but only 12 were actually killed. 58 people were transported to the penal colony of Australia. In total, 325 died, only 27 of which soldiers. 13 men were executed, one murdered, one committed suicide and two prisoners were shot. -
Durham Report
Lord Durham was sent to North America in 1838 to investigate the causes of the revolts in Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Durham's report led to a series changes including Canada uniting into a single colony. It also paved the way for responsible government . -
Act of Union
The Act of Union was a result of the Durham Report. Louis Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin from the Reform Party managed to get both Canadas to work within the Act. The Act unifies Upper and Lower Canada, consolidates debt and creates a permanent civil list. Also, in 1848, responsible government is introduced because of this Act. The territory is renamed the Province of Canada and they share a single parliament. Lower Canada is called Canada East and Upper Canada is called Canada West. -
Charlottetown Conference
The Charlottetown Conference, was to discuss the Canadian Confederation. It was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Britain encouraged a Maritime Union between the colonies, hoping that they would become less economically and politically dependent on the Crown and provide for a greater military power for the region. Representatives of each region called delegates attended the conference: 6 from New Brunswick, 5 from Nova Scotia, 5 from P.E.I and 8 from Province of Canada. -
Quebec Conference
The QC conference involved the same members that attended the Charlottetown Conference. They agreed on 72 Resolutions, that outlined how the Dominion of Canada would be run. For example,they agreed on: a federal system,24 seats to each colony,assembly elected by representation by population, a railway to be built between colonies. It went well, but the people were not accepting. Newfoundland and PEI withdrew. Dorion’s Parti Rouge opposed. The assembly of the Canada’s passed confederation. -
London Conference
Final conference that led to formation of the Canadian confederation.
16 delegates from the Province of Canada (Canada East and Canada West), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick gathered with members of the British government to draft the BNA Act.
This Act was a continuation of the 72 Resolutions. -
Church in the Dominion
After 1837, the Bishops became more and more powerful and the Curé became the most important person in the parish. The Church was in charge of registering births, marriages and deaths, they controlled education, orphanages, shelters, charities and religious festivals. Attendance was very high.
As we move into the 1900s, the Church becomes more involved in politics; influencing the Unions and the Caisses Populaires.
Families are large and the rural life is based on traditional Church views -
British North America Act
It created the Dominion of Canada which consisted of the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec. The capital was Ottawa. It created the government departments including: federal structure, justice system, taxation system and house of commons. The Dominion had become a self-governing colony.
It accorded powers to the provinces in domains like education, health and social services. -
Louis Riel
He was the leader of the Métis and founder of Manitoba.
He wanted to preserve the rights and the culture of the Métis in the Northwest. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government.The first rebellion that Riel Organized was the Red River Rebellion (1869-1870). In 1885, some Canadians demanded that Louis Riel should be hanged however the french Canadians begged the prime minister (John A. Macdonald) not to carry it out. -
Federal and Provincial Government Responsibilities
Federal:
Defence, banking and currency; trade; postal service; criminal law; federal government could disallow any law it felt was not in Canada’s interest; federal taxes; only intervened in the province in crisis situations.
Provincial:
Education; municipal institutions; hospital and health care; property and civil rights; infrastructure; natural resources. Immigration and Agriculture were shared responsibilities -
Conscription Crisis
The Conscription Crisis of 1917 was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war. It also brought out many issues regarding relations between French Canadians and English Canadians. Men went into hiding to avoid conscription, and 19 000 Canadians were conscripted against their will, by force. -
Wartime Elections Act
The Wartime Elections Act gave the right to vote in the Canadian Federal election to the wives, mothers, and sisters of soldiers.
The act also denied people that had recently immigrated from an enemy country to vote, unless they had a family member in the military. -
The Great Depression and Duplessis
A high volume of unemployment means governments are looking to get into power. Direct payments and the welfare state arise to appease/get the citizens 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. Godbout takes power for one term and the following changes are made:
Voting rights for women, compulsory education until age 14, nationalization of electricity in Montreal. -
Duplessis Defended
Duplessis defended provincial autonomy, idealization of rural life and the lack of intervention of the Quebec government in social or economic sectors.
He introduced the fleur de lis, provincial income tax, he refused subsidies for Quebec Universities based on education being provincial jurisdiction and opposed federal allowance payments. -
Groups that Challenged Duplessis
Union Leaders accused Duplessis of opposing social progress and of serving American interests rather than the interests of Quebec workers.
Strikes were held during this time period including the Asbestos strike of 1949.
Intellectuals and Journalists, such as Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Rene Levesque, opposed the Duplessis government and attacked the conservative nature of Quebec society in newspapers, magazine articles and television programs -
The Quiet Revolution
Jean Lesage was elected in 1958. In 1960 his campaign was "C'est le temps que ça change" and his election slogan was "Maîtres chez nous". In 1962, he nationalized electricity. -
Language within Quebec
Allophones who adopted english as their language when coming to Quebec fed the separatist and nationalist movements.
So:
1961: Lesage creates l'Office de la Langue Française.
1974: Bourassa adopts Bill 22, making French the official language of Quebec
1977: Levesque enacts the Bill 101 -
Nationalism in Quebec
1963: Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale
1967: Mouvement Souveraineté Association
1968: RIN + MSA = Parti Quebecois
1976: PQ comes to power
1963: Front de Liberation de Quebec. -
First Referendum
Federalists want Quebec to stay part of Canada whereas Separatists want Quebec to leave because of cultural differences and oppressive struggles. This referendum meant that Quebec would keep the economic benefits of being a part of Canada but be a politically independent nation.
The Federalists won with about 60% of the votes. -
Quebec and the Canadian Constitution
Trudeau attempts to unify the country by patriating the Constitution, this means full independence from Great Britain. All provinces agree except Quebec. But the Charter was still implemented as of 1982. Quebec has still not signed the Constitution. In 1984 , Mulroney tried to organize a deal that would satisfy Quebec and the other provinces. Manitoba and Newfoundland refuse the Meech Lake Accord in 1987. Charlottetown Agreement 1992: Premiers agreed but was voted against by the people. -
Second Referendum
1994: PQ returns to power under Jacques Parizeau
1995: Second Referendum. This time Quebec wants to be completely independent. The no side won by 50.6%.
