Rene Levesque

In Canadian history, nationalism and sovereignty tend to be common themes prevalent since Confederation. A well-known example of this in Quebec was during the Quiet Revolution which strengthened the need for change through Premier Lesage’s reforms and in turn, developed a strong sense of nationalism in Quebec. In contrast to beliefs that the rapid modernization of the Quiet Revolution had a positive impact on Quebec, it rather had a negative impact on Quebec and its citizens and identity. The three consequences which arose in Quebec as a result of the revolution are the encouragement of separatism, the elimination of traditional values and roles and the establishment of powerful bureaucratic control. Quebec’s attempt to be more like the

The Canadian Constitution ensures duality of French and English in language. The Constitution (1867) states that both French and English "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada," (Section V). However, the French language is a definite minority throughout most of Canada, with Quebec as an exception. In 1977, Bill 101 was passed through legislature, which defined French as the official

Secondly, the Act granted the Superintendent General of the Indian Affairs control over the Indians (Hanson, n.p.). This basically allows the Superintendent General to arbitrarily decide who deserves extra benefits and who doesn't, thus intruding with the lives of the aboriginals. The third effect of the Gradual Enfranchisement Act was the restriction of power of the band councils, such as “regulat[ed] alcohol consumption and determin[ing] who would be eligible for band and treaty benefits” (Hanson, n.p.). These two Acts defined relationship between the Canadian government and the aboriginals that hinted a sense of superior control, in which the Canadian government's power over the aboriginals only extended with the Indian Act of 1867. This is due the fact that the Indian Act not only added a few more regulations that controlled the aboriginals, but it also solidified more power to the two Gradual Civilization Act and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act by forcing the enfranchisement of the aboriginals who, for example, served in the Canadian army or gained an University education (Crey, n.p.)

The historical context of the Quebec Separatist movement included The Quiet Revolution. The Quiet Revolution was when small groups try to make Quebec independent especially FLQ. The small groups members were Francophones, French-speaking citizens. Their ideals was to make Quebec independent from Canadaś government. First, Canada made a bill stating that it will create a better future for Canada. “The Official Language Bill is a reflection of the nature of this country as a whole and of a conscious choice we are making about our future.” (World History: The Modern Era) Canada thought it was necessary to have one language, and it will make them feel united. After this bill was established, Canada’s government regretted and believed that there should be two official language. Yet the citizens of Canada were still deciding if they wanted that law to pass. “We believe in two official languages and in a pluralist society, not

The Quebec Referendum first occurred during the Quebec Sovereignty. The Quebec Sovereignty is the movement of Quebec declaring independence from Canada. Throughout Canadian history, the province of Quebec has always wanted to become independent from Canada. Most citizens of Quebec feel suppressed from Canada as French is not commonly spoken outside by Canadians outside of Quebec. “From the fall of 1967, when, as federal minister of justice, he had clearly articulated his position on these questions, to the 1980 referendum, his thinking and priorities had not changed: they embodied patriation of the constitution, equality between francophones and anglophones, a charter of rights, and an amending formula granting a right of veto to Quebec.” Pierre Trudeau had intentions in patriating the constitution with the French and English Canadian’s rights and freedoms. During the Quebec referendum in the year of 1995, the Parti Quebecois asked voters to vote on whether Quebec should become sovereign or not. As a result, the majority of voters voted against the Quebec Sovereignty Referendum. Pierre Trudeau strived to defeat the sovereignty movement and thus, established the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Trudeau was very passionate and ambitious in transforming Canada into an equal and humble society.

Quebec was founded by French settlers during the 16th century. It was then conquered by the British (known as the conquest of New France in 1760). “The Philosophy of the Enlightment” allowed Britain’s victory to treat the French people with dignity as both nations were civilized societies (source?). The British allowed the French occupants to maintain cultural aspects such as language and traditions (source?). In effect, The Quebec Act was published in 1974, in efforts to ensure loyalty from the French as the British government worried that the remaining French people would support the American Independent War (source?). The act was favourable for French people; allowing the continual practice of

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

The reason why it was such a defining moment in our history was because it would have completely changed the way our country it had it gone slightly differently. The referendum for Quebec to actually separate was relatively close. It potentially could have gone either way with the close 60 percent to 40 percent vote, and the fact that it was voted upon to stay with Canada greatly affects our lives today. Had Quebec decided to leave Canada and create their own country, everything would be different. Canada would be split into two, with the western provinces on one side and the Maritimes on the other. The exit of Quebec would probably lead to francophone special rights being taken away as the majority of francophones live in Quebec. Our sole official language would then become English and we would no longer have to learn French in school. Therefore, the Quebec Sovereignty movement was, in my opinion, the most important

Trudeau fought for Canada to be a country of many languages and cultures, he did this by introducing The Official Languages Act. In 1969 Trudeau established The Official Languages Act, this made English and French the official languages of Canada. It required all federal institutions to provide services in English and French. The Act was passed on the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism on 7 September 1969. The act was to ensure respect and equality of all rights and privileges as to their use in all federal institutions. The act supported the development of English and French linguistic minority communities and advanced the equality of English and French languages within Canada’s society. Trudeau truly lead Canada to success and wanted the nation to become more diverse. Trudeau noted, “Bilingualism means you can speak to the other; duality means you live in one language and the rest of Canada will live in another language.” Trudeau strongly pushed for Canada to be Bilingual and thought it would make Canada stronger as a country. Trudeau felt that Quebec had to be less isolated and that it would allow French Canadians to maintain their culture while playing part in a key role in Canada. It was because of Pierre Elliott Trudeau that Canada kept peace amongst everyone and continued to be a united country. Trudeau made Canada better by bringing

One of the defining accomplishments of Trudeau’s leadership is his strategic influence in the unification of Quebec with the rest of Canada. Expressing his opinion towards Quebec, Trudeau once said, “I am trying to put Quebec in its place, and the place of Quebec is in Canada (Gzowski and more 67).” Within his early months as prime minister, he enacts the Official Languages Act in 1969, promoting

In 1980 The PQ government called a referendum asking weather Quebec should have a new agreement with the rest of Canada. The No side won by a slim margin. In response to the referendum Pierre Trudeau promised to reform the Constitution. "Do you want "a new agreement with the rest of Canada, based on the equality of nations"? That was the heart of the question placed before the people of Quebec in the May 20, 1980 referendum. René Lévesque's Parti Québécois was asking Quebecers for a mandate to negotiate "sovereignty-association", an idea that inflamed federalists and separatists alike.

According to research conducted after the 1995 referendum, a large number of Quebecers, who speak French, believe that there is a real threat to the language. This is due to the fact that in the early 90s, francophones were the majority of people in Quebec, but that in the late 90s, they started to become the minority, which obviously scared a lot of people. By looking into more research as

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.

Breck, Joseph. (1920) French Durative Art and Sculpture of Eighteenth Century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 15(6), 132-136. http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3253553.pdf?acceptTC=true

Quebec is the only Canadian province populated by residents of French (rather than British) descent. Atwood wrote Surfacing at a time when the cultural differences between Quebec and the rest of Canada were manifesting themselves in terms of rising Quebec nationalism. The 1960s saw the Quiet Revolution in Quebec: a series of economic and educational reforms coupled with a secularization of society. The Quiet Revolution afforded Quebec greater political and economic autonomy, giving Quebec’s French citizens a sense of nationalism and a desire to separate from Canada. Atwood marks this political change in