French Canada and Quebecois Nationalism

The 1950s and 1960s were widely recognized as the second “Golden Age” after the 1920s. However, it is questioned whether it really was a period of growth and stability for all the citizens of Canada. Many French Canadians have brought up the question about if their rights and needs were properly recognized by Canada during this time period. The needs of French Canadians were met to an extent by Canada in the 1950s and 1960s because of the inclusion of their culture, the economic standing of French Canadians, and the unification of Canada as a country.

In further analysis, angry people are more likely to listen to militants and commit violent acts, building a tense environment for Quebec citizens to live in. According to CBC Digital Archives, in response to the FLQ and other revolutionary groups forming, “when innocent people became injured from terrorist attacks, the cry for police involvement became shrill.” (FLQ Backgrounder Web) It is evident in this statement that many separatists who resorted to acts of terrorism consequently stimulated anger and fear in Quebec. If the Quiet Revolution had not occurred and the feelings of separatism and rise of terrorist groups did not follow, fewer people would have been hurt by the violence, both directly and indirectly. All things considered, the encouragement of separatism also weakened English-French relations as Quebec left 30 large shared programs, though the other provinces did not have the right to do so. All things considered, “from the Quebec Act of 1774 to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada has protected the place of its French minority. If Quebec were to separate, that protection would be gone and the Francophone society would be assimilated by the wider world within a generation or two.” (Kheiriddin) In relation to this comment, many English Canadians viewed Quebec’s special status during the revolution as

Due to the bitter rivalries of their mother countries, the two sides also had a strong feels of animosity against one another. This animosity was furthered when the French surrendered New France. This cession of French territory to the British occurred after the French and Indian Wars of the mid 18th century; specifically after the treaty of Paris in February 20th of 1763. The essential annexation brought about much anger within the French. This was illustrated during the highlights of the Patriote movement (the rebellions of 1837 and 1838) and the secession of New France to become British. These events, along with prior rivalry with Britain and its colonies brought forth a substantial amount of Francophone nationalism. Though the rebellion was also caused by famine and poverty on some level, it was the strong French nationalism was the spark that brought about Canada’s first “civil war.”

Although Canada can be defined as a nation state, its vast landscape means many people are faced with different views and mindsets. Source one simply shows the differences within the nation of Canada. Eastern and Western Canada, because of their geographical differences, can be faced with contending loyalties when it comes to some nations aspects of life. Different lifestyles under the same set of government creates a physiological barrier between a nation. The source also shows the differences in Quebec nationalism compared to the rest of Canada. Some groups like the FLQ or the Front for Liberation of Quebec are known for their extremist views of Quebec nationalism. The small group called the FLQ was active in the 1960’s and 1970’s and they

Some Canadians think that our history with everyone, including the French was all peaceful and perfect. It must have been all “rainbows and butterflies” and life could not have been bad. Although the French is fine with the English now, back in the period of 1914 to 2000, relations were strained. It was as if the French wanted to fight against the English for what the French wanted. French-English relations in Canada over the past century were controversial over conscription, the October Crisis, and the 1992 and 1995 Referendum.

Though the beginning of the separatist movement was marred by fighting and violence, the vast majority of the conflict has been a political one. The reason for the revolution in Quebec stems from the restrictions placed upon the populace by the English. These restrictions were on both the language and culture of the Quebecois, and caused them to feel trapped in under the English rule, for lack of a better term. This revolution is on a much less certain foot than the others however, with many of the younger citizens not remember the restrictions of days

For some time, many Quebecois had faith in the FLQ, believing the group would speed the process of separation from Canada; however the FLQ’s loyalty to these beliefs is questionable. Ultimately, it was perceived that the FLQ’s only goal was to give Quebec its justice; they wanted to see them united in a free society. On the other hand, during the October Crisis, they had not been able to prove that. When the FLQ kidnapped British diplomat James Cross, it publicized 7 demands, of which only one concerned French-Canadians, pertaining to fairer working conditions which was later dropped (Tetley, 2007). The rest concerned the FLQ themselves: publication of the Manifesto (a public declaration of policy and aims), the name of an informer, $500,000 in gold, the release of 23 jailed terrorists, and to transport them to either Algeria or Cuba (Knowlton, 1990). A goal of Quebec’s at the time, the protection of the French language, was a cause that preoccupied much of the nation, but was not a particular concern for the FLQ. In fact, the 1970 Manifesto was written in and proclaimed in informal French and “Fringlish” (Knowlton, 1990). The FLQ’s dedication to their cause is doubtful. FLQ believed that they weren’t going to get caught, hence their slogan “Independence or death” (Brown, 2011). However, when justice prevailed, the members chose exile rather than martyrdom. This made it clear that the FLQ’s dedication

Nationalism is an important aspect of national pride and identity for countries around the world. For example, Canada takes pride in its cultural identity, one that is claimed to be different from other ‘Western’ more ‘industrialized’ nations, such as countries in Europe, and the United States. Even though Canada currently has a national identity that differs greatly from that of other more established countries, history has dictated the way in which a particular national identity exists today. In Canada, Samuel De Champlain and the French established colonies that created a cultural clash between the French Europeans, and First-Nations Canadians within the country. However, this notion of French Canadian Nationalism isn’t necessarily embraced by all of the Canadian Population. This paper seeks to analyze important pieces of Canadian History that have contributed to a broken concept of what constitutes Canadian nationalism, with an emphasis on how historic events prevent and affect coherent Canadian Nationalism in modern society. Through the analysis of the notions and histories associated with ‘First-Nations Nationalism’, ‘Quebecois Nationalism’, and a broader ‘Anti-American’ identity embraced by many Canadians, this paper seeks to locate common ground within the culturally diverse Canadian population in order to progress toward a singular coherent

The concept of recognizing Quebec as a distinct society is an idea that has been kicking around for some time, but just what does it mean and what are its broader implications? This paper will examine the origins of the term, what it means, and its historical context. It will then examine rival interpretations of federalism. The essay will conclude with an in-depth examination of the concept's involvement with the failed constitutional accords and the failed Quebec succession attempts.

In the midst of the October Crisis Pierre Trudeau handled the time of terrorism well. In this essay one will see how Trudeau handled the crisis excellently by examining the first domestic use of the War Measures Act which led to improvements on the Act, ensuring that Quebec did not become its own independent country, and how Canada stood behind and supported Quebec and Pierre Trudeau through the acts of violence led by the FLQ.

Since 1867, when Canada became a country, French and English relations have been one of the biggest issues in Canada. Throughout the decades, the debates and clashes between the French and the English Canadians led to increasing tension that threatened separation and disorder throughout the country. Through history, there were many occasions which weakened the bond of the two denominations. There are three defining moments that worsened the French and English relations. One of these events is the conscription crisis in World War I, which was a major political crisis that caused tension between the two groups.

With Quebec on the rise of disuniting, Trudeau believed that Canada would not be Canada without Quebec and the french Canadian heritage. With the 1980 Quebec Referendum, Prime Minister Trudeau verbalized with the citizens of Quebec about his French and Scottish origins, a bilingual, bicultural personality [1]. Trudeau pointed out that he was born in Quebec and strongly knew that Quebec was just as part of Canada and that they were all connected: "I am a Quebecker. I am a French Canadian with all my heart. However, I am also deeply and irrevocably a Canadian. I am convinced that one does not prevent the other” [2]. Trudeau touched the hearts of many Quebec citizens that once supported Quebec’s independence. “The concept of sovereignty-association was rejected by about 60 percent of voters, although it is estimated about 50 percent of francophones voters supported it …ultimately reversed the initial trend of 47 percent in favor of the “Yes” side to a clear minority of 40 percent” [3]. Trudeau would later defeat the 1980 Quebec referendum and as a result, made Canada the uniquely bilingual and accepting of all nationalities and languages. Prime

Finally in 1867, the United Canadas joined two other British Colonies, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to form the Dominion of Canada (McRoberts 1991, 413). French-Canadians continued to fight against assimilation and received autonomous privileges with exclusive jurisdiction over matters regarding its cultural distinctiveness***. Thus, the Francophone language and culture has always been at the forefront of Quebec priorities. Since Confederation, Quebec nationalist have felt that the Francophone language and culture has been at risk of assimilation by the rest of Canada. As a result, Quebec nationalism is fundamentally rooted in the preservation of the Francophone language and culture (Guiberneau 2006, 52). Political leaders in Quebec continuously urge for the recognition that Canada is composed of two nations or cultures (McRoberts 1991, 413). Prior to confederation Quebec enjoyed numerous autonomous privileges. Unfortunately, post-confederation Quebec did not enjoy as many autonomous privileges because Canada was created as a relatively centralized federation (Beland and Lecours 2007, 406). A centralized federation not only took several of these autonomous powers away from Quebec, but it also threatened the Francophone language and culture (Beland and Lecours 2007, 406). With this said, Quebec nationalism has placed a great deal of pressure on the federal government to decentralize, giving more powers to provincial governments.

This paper will explore the association between Quebeckers and how much the average Quebecker really likes Canada on a scale from really dislike (0) to really like (100). This association is relevant because the history of division between Quebec and the rest of Canada has resulted in many referendums and resentment that thrives today as much as it did in the past. The results may not be shocking, but the empirical data analysis shows that the average Quebecker does not really like Canada when the threshold for ‘really like’ is set at 80 or more out of 100. The rest of this paper will thoroughly look at the steps that it took to reach this conclusion including a descriptive summary of the methodological considerations, a detailed

Choquet (2015) goes even further by stating that the very construction of the Quebecois identity (post-1960s) embraces the interculturalism promoted by the province since it can now be considered a key aspect of it. It is important to point out, however, that this “act of embracing” took place, for the most part, only officially (adopted by the public power). Choquet (2015) also shows that the Bouchard-Taylor report itself cites opinion polls in which more than 60 percent of Québecois disagreed with the policies adopted by the province on immigration and social integration of immigrants. The report, in turn, recognizes this "mismatch" between public opinion and public authority. Nevertheless, it ennobles the importance of the practice of interculturalism