Canadian French-English Relations

World War One – 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 Many women in both English & French Canada gained employment in munitions factories, etc – Conscription Crisis again  Not as severe as 1917, but there were still protests and tensions

1930s - Roots of Quebec Nationalism Premier of Québec from , and again from  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 1. Maurice Duplessis – Union Nationale

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 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 Wave of change – known as the Quiet Revolution

Separatism Resentment towards English- speaking 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 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 Canada becomes Officially Bilingual in 1969

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 English- Canadian 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 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

October Crisis When asked how far he would go to defeat the FLQ Trudeau said, “Just watch me.” October 11 th – 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 Dec 3, October Crisis Over Dec 3, October Crisis Over

PQ in Power – 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 sovereignty- association  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: 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 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 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 – 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 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 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 self- government  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”

– 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