FRENCH-ENGLISH RELATIONS

1
FRENCH-ENGLISH RELATIONS 1950 PRESENT "La
Survivance" The survival of Quebec's cultural
identity, language and religion.
2

• From 1944 1969, Maurice Duplessis and the
  Unione Nationale dominated Quebec. Duplessis
  tried to create French Canadian Nationalism by
  challenging all the federal governments'
  involvement in Quebec's affairs. Duplessis was
  seen as the protector of Quebec against
  Communism.
• Duplessis maintained power by allying with the
  Catholic Church and a push for a more agrarian
  society. He allowed English and foreign
  investment to promote Quebec industry while
  educating French Canadians to mistrust technology
  and value rural life. Moreover, Quebec's
  education system promoted humanities instead of
  science, business or technology.
• Duplessis ruled Quebec with an "iron fist" and
  discouraged all opposition.

3

• In 1959, Duplessis dies and a year later the
  Unione Nationale is overthrown by the Liberals
  under the leadership of Jean Lesage. The Quiet
  Revolution begins.

4

• THE QUIET REVOLUTION
• The Quiet Revolution was a reformation of
  education, hospitals, labour code, legal status
  of women, voting age lowered, modernization of
  the economy, pension plan, nationalization of
  Hydro.
• The goal of the Quiet Revolution was to ensure
  the Quebecois were to be the "Masters of their
  own House". Among students, this goal led to an
  ideology that Quebec was not only a province but
  a nationality.

5

• Lesage desired change for Quebec in the framework
  of Confederation while there was a growing
  movement for separation.
• In 1963, the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ)
  was created to achieve independence by any means
  necessary. They promptly began to plant bombs in
  mailboxes in English sections of Montreal and in
  government buildings.

6

• In 1966, Rene Levesque aided in creating the
  Parti Quebecois. They promoted separation
  through peaceful negotiation as Quebec's destiny.
  Their plan was based on sovereignty association,
  which created an independent Quebec with strong
  ties to Canada.

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• Federally, Pierre Trudeau was elected PM in 1968.
  He promptly passes the Official Languages Act
  making Canada a bilingual nation. He also began
  to invest in Quebec as a means to undermine the
  separatist movement.

8

• THE OCTOBER CRISIS
• In 1970, the FLQ continue bombings (killing 6)
  and kidnap James Cross, the British Trade
  Commissioner. They demanded gold, safe passage
  to Cuba and the release of "political prisoners
  (FLQ members who participated in bombings). The
  federal government became involved because Cross
  was a foreign diplomat. Five days later, the FLQ
  kidnap Pierre Laporte, a Quebec cabinet minister,
  from the front lawn of his Montreal home.

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• Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa and his cabinet go
  into hiding to prevent any more kidnapping. As
  the crisis continued, the FLQ realized that they
  would not be dealt with. They killed Pierre
  Laporte and stuffed the body in the trunk of a
  car. Bourassa asks Ottawa to send troops into
  Montreal to maintain order.

10

• Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act, which
  suspended all civil liberties and gave the police
  the right to search or arrest without due process
  of law. This Act has only been invoked twice
  before (WWI and WWII).
• A few months later, the murderers are found and
  Cross is found alive in an apartment. The
  October Crisis was over.

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• The imposition of the War Measures Act in
  peacetime was controversial. Many opponents saw
  it as excessive and an unnecessary display of
  government power. Trudeau justified its use by
  stating that the FLQ was attempting to violently
  overthrow the government.
• Many Quebecois are still upset that separatists
  were arrested and held even though they had no
  connection to the FLQ or the kidnappers.
• After the Crisis, the terrorism stopped however
  separatism became more determined.

12

• THE PARTI QUEBECOIS AND THE 1980 REFERENDUM
• In 1974, the Bourassa government makes French
  Quebec's sole official language. He also limits
  the access to English schools to only those born
  in Quebec from English families. All others,
  including immigrants, had to attend French
  schools. English lessons were greatly reduced or
  phased out of French schools.

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• In 1976, Levesque is elected Premier of Quebec.
  He declared that the Parti Quebecois would soon
  call a referendum vote to allow citizens to
  decide Quebec's future.
• Before calling a referendum, the PQ managed
  government and the economy very well by improved
  labour laws, raised minimum wages, introduced
  maternity benefits and no fault insurance. They
  also passed Bill 101 declaring that French would
  be dominant language in Quebec in all areas of
  life. All signs, public and private, had to be
  in French and all but a minority would be forced
  to learn french.

14

• The referendum was called in 1980 to allow
  Quebecois to vote for a sovereignty association
  with Canada. PM Joe Clark chose not to interfere
  with the process. Clark was voted out on a vote
  of non-confidence and Trudeau was once again the
  PM. Trudeau took a more active role on the
  federalist side of the campaign. He made 3
  speeches that turned the tide of the campaign.

• On May 20, 1980, 60 of Quebecois voted no to
  sovereignty association. This was a major
  setback for the PQ.

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• CONSTITUTION RENEWAL
• After the federalist win in the 1980 referendum,
  Trudeau started the process of renewing Canada's
  constitution. He petitioned the British
  parliament to patriate the BNA Act and add in an
  Amending Formula and The Charter of Rights and
  Freedoms.

• Trudeau met with the first ministers to strike a
  compromise and receive support for the new
  Constitution. They were having great difficulty
  reaching a consensus. The ministers were woken
  up after midnight to reach a last minute
  compromise.
• Levesque was left out and did not find out about
  the agreement until the morning. In Quebec this
  is known as The Night of the Long Knives.

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• Quebec felt betrayed. The constitution was
  supposed to be a way to meet Quebec's needs now
  the rest of the country was forcing this
  constitution on them. When the Queen and the
  first ministers signed the Constitution, Quebec
  was not present. Flags were lowered to half-mast
  in Quebec and protest was held in Montreal.

17

• In 1987, PM Brian Mulroney attempted to reconcile
  Quebec with the rest of Canada during a retreat
  at Meech Lake. The provinces reached an
  agreement that would have allowed Quebec to be a
  distinct society and allow Quebec to have greater
  powers over their own affairs than the other
  provinces.
• The House of Commons passed the Accord but it had
  to be passed by each province's legislature to be
  placed in the Constitution.
• Aboriginal people and the newly elected
  governments of Newfoundland, Manitoba and New
  Brunswick scuttled the deal.

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• Negotiations continued months later at
  Charlottetown in an attempt to deal with the
  criticisms of the Meech Lake Accord. They
  decided on a "Canada Clause" which set out the
  principles and values that the country was
  founded on including a distinct Quebec. Ottawa
  proposed a referendum on the new Charlottetown
  Accord and it faced a resounding defeat at the
  hands of the Canadian electorate.
• The failure to ratify the Accords sent the
  message to Quebec that Canada did not want them.
  Quebec decided the only alternative was
  separation. The Bloc Quebecois was formed, led
  by Lucien Bouchard, to push the separation agenda
  on the federal level. In the 1993 election, they
  won 54 seats and become the Official Opposition.

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• THE 1995 REFERENDUM
• In 1994, the Parti Quebecois regained power in
  Quebec ensuring that would be another referendum.
  The PQ and Jacques Parizeau felt that Quebec
  would vote for sovereignty. The separatists
  argued that Quebec would benefit greatly by
  separating from Canada but maintaining Canadian
  currency. Federalists and Aboriginals argued
  that they did not want to go and they would
  suffer economically. The question was a
  confusing one which led to a close 49.4 of
  Quebecois voting for sovereignty.

"Do you agree that Quebec should become
sovereign, after having made a formal offer to
Canada for a new economic and political
partnership, within the scope of the bill
respecting the future of Quebec and of the
agreement signed on June 12, 1995? Yes/No."