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Maurice Duplessis is Elected
The Quebec general election of 1936 was held on August 17, 1936 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec. This marked the end of more than 39 consecutive years in power for the Liberals, who had been in power since the 1897 election. -
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The Duplessis Era
The Duplessis era started to set Quebec on the path to independence. When Maurice Duplessis was elected, he gave strong ideas about Quebec Nationalism. His rule, with the help of the catholic church would help influence children not only nationalism, but the old traditions of Quebec. -
Maurice Duplessis is elected for a second term
The Quebec general election of 1944 was held on August 8, 1944. The Union Nationale, led by former premier Maurice Duplessis, won over the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party that was in control for a while. This was the first provincial election in which women were allowed to vote. -
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2nd Term of Maurice Duplessis
His re-election in this time would also spawn even more nationalistic ideas. His reign once again was pretty much the same as last time. -
Election of Jean Lesage
The Quebec general election of 1960 was held on June 22, 1960. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history. The incumbent Union Nationale, led by Antonio Barrette since Duplessis' death, was defeated by the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Jean Lesage. -
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The Jean Lesage Era
When Maurice Duplessis died, so did the Union Nationale's influence. That was when Jean Lesage and the Liberal Party came into power. Although the two had differing political views, the two had the same vision, Quebec Separation. Lesage's first actions were to stamp out corruption left by the Union Nationale. As a result, Quebec's economy and infastructure bagan to modernize. Along the years, the slogan "Maîtres chez nous" (Masters in Our Own Home) managed a liberal government. -
Rise of the FLQ
The date mentioned is not official, rather, it is when the FLQ had it's first major actions. The FLQ (Quebec Liberation Front) were a group of radical Quebec nationalists. With separation in their mind, they would attack many federal buildings using letter bombs. They would also abduct key political figures for ransoms. -
Lester B. Pearson opens up the flag debate
In an effort to gain the favor of the Quebecers, Pearson decided to respond to one of the complaints of many Quebecers, the flag. Qubecers were thinking that the flag was too Britain leaning. Although this debate was contested alot, the decision to have the pictured flag flown was passed. Ironically, this made many Quebecers disgruntled. -
The new flag is flown
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Pierre Trudeau becomes Prime Minister
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The Official Languages act is passed
This act was so that the official languages of canada would be English and French. The act had many mixed reviews. People in quebec were very happy about this act while other people, such as people in British Columbia were pretty angry about it. BC thought it would force french on them -
Robert Bourassa is elected as Premier
The Quebec general election of 1970 was held on April 29, 1970. The former Legislative Assembly had been renamed the "National Assembly" in 1968. The Quebec Liberal Party, led by Robert Bourassa, won over the incumbent Union Nationale, led by Jean-Jacques Bertrand. -
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Robert Bourrasa's Tenure
Bourassa and his Liberals swept into power in 1970. at this time the October crisis would test his ability to manage Quebec. To a degree the invocation on the war measures act would help Bourassa a little bit. The October crisis would also help fan the flames of seperatism. -
The Bombardier Contract
*Date isn't exact When the oil crisis came about, the government needed a private company to help repair and refuel military jets. The contract to this was between two major companies: Bombardier Aerospace of Quebec, and Bristol Aerospace of Manitoba. Although Bristol Aero gave a better proposal, the contract went to bombardier. Westerners were outraged at this, thinking it was a way to get more support from the east. -
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The October Crisis
The October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area. The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use of the War Measures Act in Canada's history, invoked by Governor General of Canada Roland Michener at the direction of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. -
The Election of René Lévesque
The Quebec general election of 1976 was held on November 15, 1976. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, comparing only by the 1960 general election, and would cause major consequences in the rest of Canada. The Parti Québécois, led by René Lévesque, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Robert Bourassa. -
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The René Lévesque Era
When Quebec voters chose the Parti Québecois, it became a stunning victory as the liberal government were left awashed in defeat. The party would shift it's focus on creating a sovereign Quebec. The night of Lévesque's acceptance speech included one of his most famous quotations: "I never thought that I could be so proud to be Québécois." -
Bill 101 passes
The Charter of the french language (better known as bill 101) is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of Quebec, and framing fundamental language rights. It is the central legislative piece in Quebec's language policy. It was passed by the National Assembly, and granted Royal Assent by Lieutenant Governor Hugues Lapointe on August 26, 1977. -
The 1980 Quebec referendum
The 1980 Quebec referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois (PQ) government, which strongly favoured secession from Canada. The proposal to pursue secession was defeated by a 60 percent to 40 percent margin. -
The Kitchen Compromise
That night on November 4, 1981, the Minister of Justice, Jean Chrétien, met with Attorney General of Saskatchewan Roy Romanow and Attorney General of Ontario Roy McMurtry in the kitchen of Ottawa's Government Conference Centre. The premiers agreed to get rid of the "opt out" clause, while Chrétien reluctantly offered to include the Notwithstanding Clause in the constitution. Hatfield and Davis agreed to the compromise and told Trudeau that he should take the deal. -
The Queen signs the constitution act
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Brian Mulroney is electected into federal office
Mulroney was a conservative party leader during his time. As PM, Mulroney wanted to include Quebec in a new agreement with the rest of Canada. In 1987, he negotiated the Meech Lake Accord with the provincial premiers, a package of constitutional amendments designed to satisfy Quebec's demand for recognition as a "distinct society" within Canada, and to devolve some powers to the provinces. -
The Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of Quebec to endorse the 1982 constitutional amendment and increase support in Quebec for remaining within Canada. *Exact date unknown -
The Reform Party is founded
The Reform Party was made in response to the Bombadier contract to give western Canada a voice in government. People were tired of having the government serve the east too much. -
The Meech Lake Accord Disintegrates
As constant disagreement came between the provinces. Eventually, a majority of the provinces withdrew support of the accords. Quebec took this defeat personal and as a result formed the Bloc Quebecois. -
The Charlottetown Accord begins negotiations
The Charlottetown Accord was a bundle of proposed changes to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. The Accords included changes in the senate, aboriginal self-government and changes in federal and provincial powers. -
Canada wide referendum defeats the Charlottetown accords
Unlike Meech lake, the Charlottetown Accord included a national referendum to comply to provincial legislation. Eventually popularity waned and eventually in the referendum, a slim majority of "No" struck the accords down. -
The 1995 Quebec referendum
This referendum was launched by Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau of the Parti Quebecois. The referendum vote was so close, Quebec was down by a slim margin. Should more Quebecers have voted yes, the chances of having an independent Quebec would be very real. -
The Clarity Law is passed
In an effort to slow down any effort to a seperatist referendum and to provide a clear process, Jean Chrétien passed the Clarity law. This law requiered that a clear question for Ottawa about seperatism, followed by a substantial majority.
