Canadian
French-English Relations
World War One – 1914 -1918
At the outset of World War
One – tremendous
disagreement between
English and French Canada
on what role Canada should
play in conflict
French Canadians did not
think we should get involved
in a European / British war
Most English-Canadians
still felt strong loyalty to
Britain and wanted to lend
support
1917 – Conscription Crisis of WWI
When PM Borden introduced
Military Service act of 1917 –
introduced conscription
Divided Canada along
language lines
English Canada supportive of
conscription, French Canada
opposed
Henri Bourassa, the premier of
Quebec, appealed to
Quebecois by saying that the
war involved no Canadian
interests, and therefore
Canadians should not be
involved.
Québec City Riot (1918)
protested conscription, led to 4
deaths
World War Two 1939 - 1945
Many women in both
English & French
Canada gained
employment in
munitions factories,
etc.
1942 – Conscription
Crisis again
 Not as severe as 1917,
but there were still
protests and tensions
1930s - Roots of Quebec Nationalism
1. Maurice Duplessis – Union Nationale
Premier of Québec from 19361939, and again from 19441959
 Known as le chef (The Boss)
Strong Québec nationalist who
was devoted to the idea of
Québec as a distinctive
society – a “nation” rather
than just another Canadian
province
Time of rule known as “The
Great Darkness”
 Refused money from federal
gov’t
 Discouraged unions = bad
working conditions
Quiet Revolution – 1960s
Jean Lesage
1960 – Duplessis died – Jean
Lesage and the Liberals
came to power in Québec
under the slogan, Maitres
chez nous: “Masters of our
own House”
 Ruled from 1960-1966
During this time, Quebec went
through a rapid reform and
modernization:
 The Quiet Revolution
Quiet Revolution -
Modernization
Quiet Revolution
characteristics:
 Secularization: move away from
Catholic Church
 Strengthening of welfare state
 Investments in public education
 Unionization of the civil service
 More control over the economy
 Development of Hydro-Quebec
 Sought “special status” for Quebec
to protect French language &
culture
 More control over pension plans,
loans, and medical insurance
 Increase in Quebec nationalism
Wave of change – known as
the Quiet Revolution
Separatism
Resentment towards Englishspeaking Canada grew
As francophone Quebeckers
became proud of their
achievements, they became
angrier at what they perceived as
injustices by English-speaking
Canadians:
 Federal government
overwhelmingly English;
 French rarely held Cabinet
posts;
 No French schools in the rest of
Canada;
 Francophones expected to
speak English in stores and at
work
For some – only solution was for
Quebec to be entirely controlled
by Quebeckers – in separation
from Canada
Separatism -
Lévesque and the PQ
1967 – influential
Québec cabinet
minister René
Lévesque left the
Liberal Party and
formed the Parti
Québécois (PQ)
Lévesque believed that
Québec and Canada
would do better to
divorce peacefully than
to continue a marriage
that seemed no longer
workable
Trudeau and Québec
Canada becomes Officially Bilingual in 1969
1968 – Trudeau succeeded
Pearson as PM
Determined that the federal govt.
should do more to persuade people
from Québec that their future lay
with Canada
1969 –passed the Official
Languages Act – making Canada
an officially bilingual country
 All federal government agencies
across Canada were required to
provide services in both languages
 All products must be labeled in both
languages
 French immersion programs
implemented across the country
Separatism - FLQ
Mostly young radicals –
joined terrorist groups like
the FLQ (front de
liberation du Québec) and
fought in the name of
“Québec libre” – a “free”
Québec
Used firebombs and
explosives to attack
symbols of EnglishCanadian power in Québec
Most notably – March 7,
1963 – 3 Canadian army
buildings in Montreal were
bombed with Molotov
cocktails (homemade
firebombs)
FLQ claimed responsibility
October Crisis - 1970
On October 5, 1970 members of the
FLQ kidnapped James Cross, a British
diplomat, from this Montreal home
In exchange for Cross’s safe release –
FLQ made several demands, including
$500,000 ransom, transport to Cuba,
and release of FLQ members serving
prison sentences for previous criminal
acts
Federal and Québec authorities agreed
to most demands – but refused to
release any FLQ prisoners from jail
Then FLQ kidnapped Québec Labour
Minister Pierre Laporte
Alarmed that the situation was out of
control – Trudeau asked Parliament to
impose the War Measures Act
 Civil rights suspended
 Anyone could be arrested and
detained without being charged with
an offense
 Membership in FLQ became a
crime
James Cross
Pierre Laporte
When asked how far he would go
to defeat the FLQ Trudeau said,
“Just watch me.”
October 11th – Laporte writes
letter to Quebec Liberal Premier,
Robert Bourassa begging him
to release the FLQ prisoners in
order to spare Laporte’s life
October 17th – police found the
body of Pierre Laporte in the
trunk of a car – had been
strangled
Two months later – Montreal
police tracked the group holding
Cross in a Montreal house
In return for Cross’ safe release,
kidnappers were permitted safe
passage to Cuba, where they
would be granted political asylum
Those detained under the War
Measures Act were released
Of 450 people held in detention –
only 25 ever charged
October Crisis
Dec 3, 1970 - October Crisis Over
PQ in Power - 1976
1976 – René Lévesque and Parti Québécois
won provincial election
 During campaign Lévesque assured voters that
the PQ would not automatically mean
separation - promised to hold a province-wide
referendum on issue
Top priority: strengthening the status of
French language
Passed Bill 101 – “Charter of the French
Language”:
 Made French the only official language of the
province
 Québec govt. employees had to work in French
 Commercial outdoor signs would have to be in
French only
 Children of immigrants would be required to
attend French rather than English schools
Francophone Quebeckers – welcomes the law
to protect their culture and language
To non-Francophones this was a symbol of
oppression
Federal gov. had to find a way to preserve
Canadian unity
1980 Referendum
1980 – Lévesque govt. called a
referendum – people asked to vote:
“YES” – to give his govt. a mandate
to negotiate a new agreement with
Canada based on sovereigntyassociation
 Proposed that Québec become
politically independent, yet maintain a
close economic association with
Canada
Trudeau – made impassioned
speeches urging the people of
Quebec to remain part of a strong,
united, and forward-looking Canada
Trudeau promised to negotiate a new
Constitution should the “No” side win
RESULT:
40% voted “YES”
60% voted “NO”
Patriating the Constitution
Trudeau’s intention:
BNA Act had been Canada’s
constitution since 1867 – but
fell under British jurisdiction
 = No changes could be made
without the British Parliament’s
approval
Trudeau wanted to patriate
the Constitution (bring it home
to Canada), where Canadian
govt. would have the authority
to make changes;
He also wanted to include
a Charter of Rights and
Freedoms – but needed
approval of provinces
Negotiations with Provinces
1st step – needed to come up
with an amending formula
BUT.…difficult to get all
provinces, with their differing
opinions and interests, to agree
Series of meetings led to
frustration
Federal Justice Minister, Jean
Chrétien, amid justice ministers
from Ont. and Sask. created
what became known as the
“Kitchen Compromise”
9/10 premiers awakened in their
hotel rooms to approve the deal
 However, not Lévesque because
he was staying at a different hotel
Negotiations with Provinces
Only would accept Charter if an
escape clause was added –
Notwithstanding Clause
 Allowed the federal govt or provincial
govt’s to opt out of some of the
clauses of the Charter
Meant that a provincial law that
was contrary to a specific Charter
guarantee could be passed
Amending Formula
reached: changes to the
Constitution would be made only
with the agreement of 7/10
provinces representing 50% of
Canada’s population
Negotiations with Provinces
Afterwards – Lévesque
argued against the deal but
Trudeau went ahead
 Trudeau maintained that the
federal govt. had so many
members from Québec that it
would speak for that province
Lévesque and people of
Québec felt betrayed
Result – called it the “Night
of the Long Knives”
Québec provincial
government refused to sign
the proposed new
Constitution
Constitution Act - 1982
Trudeau went ahead
anyway
On April 17, 1982 – the new
Constitution Act was
signed into law by Queen
Elizabeth II and PM Trudeau
outside the Parliament
Buildings in Ottawa
Last step to making
Canada a completely
independent nation
As the rest of the country
celebrated – flags flew at
half mast in Québec
Lévesque led an angry
demonstration in Québec
City
Meech Lake Accord - 1987
1987 – PM Mulroney called the
premiers to a conference at
Meech Lake
He wanted to created
constitutional harmony by
bringing Quebec into the fold
 Proposed a package of
amendments to the
Constitution
 Offered to recognize Quebec
as a Distinct Society
 Proposed giving more power
to the other provinces – i.e. All
would have power to veto
Constitutional change
Meech Lake Accord - 1987
Response:
 Quebec supported Accord
 Many critics – especially
Trudeau – said that the
designation of Quebec as a
distinct society would create
“two solitudes” in Canada:
It would isolate the
Francophones of Quebec
 Other people worried that
the clause could be used for
Quebec to override the
Charter and deprive specific
groups of their rights
Meech Lake Accord - 1987
Aboriginal peoples pointed
out that they too had a
distinct society that needed
to be recognized and
protected
Manitoba and Newfoundland
withheld their support:
 Led by aboriginal leader
and MLA in Manitoba,
Elijah Harper
 Therefore, Meech Lake
Accord disintegrated in
June, 1990
Quebeckers – saw rejection
as a “humiliation” – by late
1990, support for
separation rose to 64%
Elijah Harper
The Charlottetown Accord
PM Mulroney: continued
with Constitution debate
because Quebec still not
included
To avoid past mistakes,
appointed a special
“Citizen’s Forum” – a
committee that travelled
across the nation to hear the
views of Canadians
Eventually – Mulroney & the
premiers came up with
another package of
proposed Constitutional
amendments: The
Charlottetown Accord
Charlottetown Accord
1. Proposed Senate Reform:

Making it elected with equal
representation from all parts of the
country (West wanted this)
2. Answered Quebec’s concerns
3. Supported Aboriginal selfgovernment
 Put to a national referendum in
October, 1992
 54.5% of voters rejected it
 Problem: so many clauses,
each designed to please a
different group – easy to find
fault
 Greatest opposition – BC –
68.3% voted “NO”
Growing Feelings of Separatism
1993: Bloc Quebecois became the Official
Opposition in Canadian federal government
 Led by Lucien Bouchard
1994: Parti Quebecois became the official
opposition in Quebec
 Jacques Parizeau became Premier
1995 Referendum
Second referendum to ask
voters in Quebec whether
Quebec should secede from
Canada and become an
independent state.
The referendum took place in
Quebec on October 30,
1995, and the motion to
decide whether Quebec
should secede from Canada
was defeated by an
extremely small margin:
 50.58% "No“
 49.42% "Yes"
1998 Supreme Court Decision
Supreme Court rules that
Quebec did not have the
right to separate
unilaterally (to decide by
itself) from Canada
Quebec would have to
negotiate with the federal
government, the 9 other
provinces, and the
Aboriginal peoples living
in Quebec
Also – any referendums
had to have a “clear
majority” that voted “yes”
to a “clear question”
1999 - 2000 –
Clarity Act
Introduced in 1999 –
passed in 2000
Put the Supreme Court
ruling into law:
 In any future referenda,
Quebec must ask a clear
question, and win a clear
majority