French-English Relations Unity & Identity

WWI- Conscription French Canadians were not in favour of conscription English Canadians felt that French Canadians were not doing their part Enlistment from Quebec was far below the other provinces Reflect on unit one: Why did French Canadians oppose conscription? Henri Bourassa (leader of the opposition) Lasting rift between the two groups remained

WWII- Conscription Again PM King wants to avoid a repeat of WWI Plebiscite on the conscription issue Minor rioting in Montreal

Quebec: Before the Quiet Revolution Union Nationale 1944 – 1959: A Quebec party led by Maurice Duplessis had tight control over Quebec society. Very strong loyalty to French-Canadian traditions and values. Quebec government strongly resisted efforts by the federal government to force change. Roman Catholic Church ran schools, hospitals and has strong political influence.

Maurice Richard/ Richard Riot French Canadian hockey players faced discrimination in the NHL Unfair calls from the referees Richard suspended for the rest of the 1954-55 season Montreal erupts into a mass riot on March 17, 1955 French Canadians viewed it as too harsh English Canadians viewed it as too soft

Royal Commission on Bilingualism & Biculturalism Nicknamed the Bi and Bi Commission Recommended the development of an equal partnership: Canada declared officially bilingual Provinces where the minority group is more than 10% should provide government services in both languages Ottawa should be national capital and bilingual Students should be able to study both languages More French Canadians in parliament French should be the main language used in Quebec

The Quiet Revolution Lesage took control of the hydroelectric companies giving Quebecers more control over their economic future. Used slogans “Maitres chez nous” – “masters in our own house”. Most English speaking Quebecers earned $4940/yr & owned most of the businesses. Most French speaking Quebecers earned $3185/yr Government limited power of the Catholic Church in Education. All of this increased tensions between French and English speaking people in Quebec.

Separatism During the Quiet Revolution, some Quebecois believed the only solution to Quebec’s problems was to separate from Canada As long as Quebec was a part of Canada, French Canadians would never be equal to English Canadians

PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS VICTORY! In November 1976, René Lévesque and the PQ party were elected to be the Provincial government They were a separatist, nationalist group “Now we have to build this country Quebec!”

BILL 101 (1977) The Parti Quebecois (PQ) party passed this controversial language bill French was to be used in government, the courts, and business- no sign in a language other than French French was the language of the workplace Only children already enrolled in English school or with one parent who attended English school could enroll in an English school

Tensions Escalate – Leading to the October Crisis Expo 1967 – French President Charles De Gaulle shouted a separatist slogan “Vive Le Québec Libre!” 1963 – 1970 – Somewhere in Quebec a terrorist bomb exploded approximately every 10 days. October 5, 1970 – a British Diplomat was kidnapped by the FLQ & held for ransom. Government refused to pay. October 10, 1970 – Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte is kidnapped at gun-point. October 16, 1970 – Government uses War Measures Act. This takes away all civil rights, can be held without charge for 21 days, 90 days without trial, people can be arrested without reason, curfews are imposed. October 18, 1970 – Laporte is found murdered. December 4, 1970 – Police find and surround the house where British Diplomat had been held for 59 days. He is returned and, in return, the kidnappers are exiled and flown to Cuba.

Was using the War Measures Act Justified?

THE REFERENDUM, 1980 PQ wanted separation, but Lévesque knew Quebeckers were not ready- he proposed sovereignty association: Quebec would be politically independent, but maintain economic ties with the rest of Canada Quebeckers were asked to vote “oui” or “non” for S.A. Large scale propaganda campaign

REFERENDUM, THE RESULT! 60% “non” and 40% “oui” Pierre Trudeau (French Canadian Prime Minister) wanted Quebec to remain an integral part of Canada He urged people to vote ‘non’ and promised he would work diligently to make the changes to create equality among the French and English 60% “non” and 40% “oui”