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Founding of Quebec
The Amerindians were living on the Quebec territory, so when the French came into this territory and founded Quebec, they took over and now had power over Amerindians. -
Creation of the Company of One Hundred Associates
The 100 Associates had a monopoly on the fur trade. They have power in the fur trade and are in charge of settlement in New France. -
Royal Government
In 1663, Louis XIV, king of France assumes all powers: this is called absolute monarchy. He controls everything and has absolute power. In this political situation, democracy is non-existent. The citizens have no say whatsoever. They are ruled. In New France, the king reorganizes the political structure and defines the roles of each person within the system. This is the Royal Government. -
Mgr. de Laval, first bishop of Quebec
Monseigneur de Laval is the highest dignitary in the colony. His role is to ensure the spiritual wellbeing of the citizens of New France. He exercised far-ranging powers in the colony, surpassing that of the religious community. In addition to naming the priests and missionaries and enforcing the tithe, he had a seat on the Sovereign Council and had considerable influence on the State. He had no political power, but lots of influence. -
Great Peace of Montreal
The Great Peace of Montreal was between New France and 40 First Nations of North America, and the goal was to stop fighting and to start working together. On August 4, 1701, the deliberations come to an end. -
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War of the Conquest
This Conquest will profoundly modify all relationships of power in Canada. The Royal Government would be dispersed, the Catholic Church will lose its direct political influence and new colonial administrators will be put into place by Great Britain. -
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British military regime
The newly named Province of Quebec was administered under martial law, a system of temporary rule by the army usually with special military courts instead of civil authorities. Because the Seven Years' War wasn't over yet, British control of New France was not definite. -
Royal Proclamation
After the treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, the Canadiens became part of the British Empire. In October 1763, the British government issues an official announcement called the Royal Proclamation. The aim of the Royal Proclamation was to assimilate French-speaking Canadiens and make them British. -
Quebec Act
The Thirteen colonies are starting to talk about war and independence. To ensure the loyalty of the French Canadians in the event of war with the thirteen colonies, the king of England decides to grant a new constitution to the Province of Quebec, called the Quebec Act. With the Quebec Act, there was the same government structure as The Royal Proclamation. But with the removal of the Test Act, Catholics were able to take public posts within the government. -
Constitutional Act
The Constitutional Act attempted to satisfy the requirements of both the loyalists and the French in Quebec.Quebec is divided into Lower and Upper Canada, but the constitution also grants a legislative assembly to each colony.For both Lower and Upper Canada, there is a representative government.The people elected their representatives to be members of the Legislative Assembly.Its members could propose and pass laws, but the appointed governor or the appointed Legislative Council could veto them. -
92 Resolutions
The Parti Patriote drafted the 92 Resolutions with which they demanded more autonomy for Canada with respect to Great Britain and a more democratic system. A few of their demands were: the election of members of the Legislative Council and even the implementation of ministerial responsibility, in other words, the abolition of the power of veto, to ensure a more democratic government. Also, they wanted more Francophones to be appointed to administrative posts in the government. -
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Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada
Members of the Parti canadien, which later became the Parti patriote, called for more power in colonial institutions and for responsible government. The British authorities refused the Patriotes' demands, which led to the rebellions of 1837 and 1838. -
Act of Union
With the Act of Union, there was a fusion of the two legislative assemblies to form one big legislative assembly. There is only one governor, one Executive Council and one Legislative Council. Their respective powers are intact. Canada West and Canada East each have the same number of deputies in the Legislative Assembly, even if Canada East has a greater population. -
British North America Act
With the British North American Act (BNAA) of 1867, Canada became a federation. At first it was composed of 4 provinces: Quebec,Ontario,New Brunswick an Nova Scotia. Powers were separated between the federal government and the provincial governments. The Canadian government was headed by a Prime minister and the Quebec government was headed by a Premier. Each had an Executive Council. In general, only the members of the Legislative Council were not elected by citizens. -
Conscription Crisis
When World War I broke out in Europe, many English-speaking or British-born Canadians enlisted in the army to back up the British troops. French Canadians proved less willing to volunteer their services in the Canadian Army which functioned solely in English and where they were not treated as equals.So, because the lack of new volunteers, the Government of Canada imposed conscription, which was not well-received across Canada. There were protests. 19 000 Canadians were forced to join the army. -
Women's right to vote
Feminist groups were created because in the 19th century, the status of women was inferior to that of men: women had no legal or political rights and those who worked were paid far less than man. Finally in 1918, women's right to vote was recognized federally. -
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Maurice Duplessis, Premier
Maurice Duplessis had his first term of office from 1936-1939. Then from 1939-1944 it was the Godbout government. Then Duplessis took office again from 1944-1959. Duplessis's political ideas were based on liberalism and on French Canadian nationalism that emphasized Catholicism, agriculture and provincial autonomy. This government grated the state a limited socioeconomic role. It financed infrastructure projects and attracted private investments. It directly encouraged the sector of agriculture. -
Padlock Act
Maurice Duplessis adopted the Padlock Law, in 1937. This law permitted the police to close any establishment believed to be involved in communist propaganda. This law was also used to close down union offices. -
Women's right to vote
Women's right to vote was recognized provincially in 1940. -
Conscription Crisis
During World War II, the Prime Minister of Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie King, promised Canadians that he would not impose conscription. But because of the significant loss of life, the Government had to renege on his promise. In 1942, King organizes a plebiscite (referendum) on conscription. The majority of English-speaking Canadians agree while the majority of French-speaking Canadians opposed the idea of conscription. Because of this, a new political party was formed, the Bloc Populaire. -
Nationalization of electricity
Small companies are first in power, until Hydro-Quebec came into power, then electricity was nationalized. -
October Crisis
During the 1970s, some separatists believed that only radical measures would lead to Quebec sovereignty. This was the case for members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ). This group believed in striking fear in the population. In the early 1970s, this group launched several terrorist attacks. In 1970, this group kidnapped an English diplomat James Richard Cross and the Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte. -
Referendum on sovereignty-association
Once in power, the Quebec government wanted to negotiate an agreement that would allow it to be sovereign at the political level while maintaining economic ties with the rest of Canada. The referendum of 1980 divided Quebec's population. In the end, the No side won with 59.56% of the votes, against 40.46% for the Yes. -
Meech Lake Accord
In the 1980s, attempts of reconciliation for the constitutional agreement of Quebec takes place. In 1987, the federal Government led by the conservative Brian Mulroney proposed a new draft to the constitution that is first accepted by all the provinces and then rejected by Newfoundland and Manitoba .This project is called the Meech Lake Accord. -
Referendum on sovereignty
The Parti Quebecois held a second referendum on Quebec sovereignty but the results revealed a profound division between sovereignists and federalists. The No side won with 50.6% of the vote -
"Paix des Braves" agreement
The Agreement Respecting a New Relationship Between the Cree Nation and the Government of Quebec (La Paix des Braves), is an agreement signed on February 7, 2002, between the Government of Quebec and the Grand Council of the Crees.
