Tensions between the French and English speaking Canadians.

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

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.

Quebec has made mistakes like building the Hydro-Quebec without the permission of natives on traditional land and by doing so, Quebec started to believe that if they left Canada in the first place, they could make their own laws without having to forcefully agree to the Constitutional Act. Even though Quebec is in Canada, they are not recognized as well as the English-Canadians because they are the ones who lead/control everything going on in the country no matter how many prominent people come from Quebec or how many Quebecois soldiers risk their lives at war for Canada. Canada has brought more harm to Aboriginals because they have purposely tried to discriminate other groups that are not English or British to get rid of them.(Research Publications, N/A, 54).

There was a time when Quebec wanted to separate from Canada. Why would they? What would the downsides of Quebec leaving be? How drastic did people act when the period of separatism was going on? Keep reading and the questions will have answers.

George Etienne Cartier of the Parti Blue often clashed with John A. MacDonald’s Conservative Party as political issues in terms of the power that was the shared under the new Constitution. In this political conflict, Cartier’s primarily Francophone political base had historically been marginalized by the British government due to ethnic conflicts with Anglophones in Ontario. The Union Act of 1840 was a major barrier to resolutions related to forming a federal government, since British colonialism was still at the forefront of arguments about the autonomy of Quebec as a primarily Francophone region (Lamonde 244). This division of “Upper and Lower Canada” had become endemic of the distrust of a government dominated by the Royal Crown, which had sought to amalgamate Quebec into the new federal

The problems that the Province of Canada have been facing before constitution may have just been a blessing in disguise, without these issues, there would be no BNA act, no constitution, an no Canada. There were three main issues at hand; Politics, economy, and the military. The main political problems have to do with the French and

More so, many Quebeckers were finding greater economic opportunities in the United States, which fostered concerns about the economic isolation of Quebec, which could ultimately become part of the United States and lose any form of Francophone independence: “Quebec’s economic weakness could be seen already in the flood of emigration toward the United States” (Silver 46). In this case, the underlying debate about provincial rights in the new federal government had to be addressed to ensure that Ontario did not usurp the provinces under a primarily Anglophone government. These clashing interest define how the threat of British colonialism and the economic and military aggression of the United States posed a major threat to Cartier and the Bleu Parti (Smith 43). These political negotiations defined the major efforts to unify the nation under MacDonald and Cartier’s federal plan as the two major provinces of Canada. This political culture created an opportunity to provide greater legislative and principal authority to countermand the new central government created through the Canadian

This, here, is where the seeds of division were sown between the French and English Canadians. French Canadians felt no loyalty to either Britain or France but mainly felt loyal to Canada only. They didn’t want to serve for either country but English Canadians felt fiercely loyal to Britain and so French Canadians felt unheard again. Both of these decisions have the same theme that French and English Canadians are divided in every decision. This shows the lack of coexistence between these two sets of people.

Should Quebec pursue sovereignty or not? people of the nation were very persistent in making their opinions clear as to yes or no. In 1980 politician Rene Levesque, wanted independence as there was a referendum on Quebec gaining this independence. Sixty percent of the nation voted no towards sovereignty. Later in 1995, There was another referendum due to the discontent of The Meech Lake Accord. During this referendum there was hope that Quebec would finally become a proud independent nation. However, this time, the the vote was the same, only a closer percentage.50.58 percent of Quebecers voted no, and 49.42 percent voted yes. This encouraged Quebec that they belonged to Canada. Taking the votes into consideratiom showed a very distinct, yet

Though the separatist movements came very close to achieving their goal, the steady actions of PM Chrétian show a change in attitude towards French Canadians in within the country. The fact that Chrétian managed to succeed in keeping Quebec from separating further proves that the perspective of cultural differences in Canada started to develop for the better. The language rights within Canada add depth to the sincere maturity and growth that Canada has experienced in the years after WWII. Some direct impacts were the immediate enactments of French policies within the federal government, and indirectly the language rights reduced tension within all of Canada and mainly Quebec. Over the years, language rights have helped the country learn to blend itself back into a bilingual nation of acceptance and diversity. Canada, during the years after WWII, managed to stop the cultural bond between the French and the English from further deteriorating and helped to repair previous bruises by accepting Quebec’s ideas and beliefs, by enacting language rights, and through Chrétian’s active attendance to maintaining the balance between French and English

Quebec independent debates have played a large role of the province. Parti quebecois government helds rehemudums in sovereignty in 1980 and 1995; both were voted by voters. The latter defeated by very narrow margin. In 2006, house of commons of canada passed a allusive motion recognizing the quebec as a nation within canada.

In Lower Canada, the conflict had been divided along linguistic and cultural lines. Within Durham’s report, The Act of Union, and1841 Election. The English and French battled out the ultimate power control over the new nation, where the lower Canada and the upper Canada became as one. In Durham’s report back in 1839, he came up with two recommendation: union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada, and a responsible government. “I expected to find a conflict between the government an the peoples: instead I found two warring nations within a single state; I found a struggle, not of principles…which now divides the inhabitants of lower Canada into hostile groups: French and English.” Quote from Lore Durham (1839 - Lord Durham’s Report). To solve this

The idea of Québec separating from Canada isn’t as popular as it once was, twenty one years ago. In the 1980’s and 90’s, Québec sovereignty left the country divided, and the 1995 referendum showed how Québec and Canada had a tumultuous relationship. All of Canada was affected, but this debate targeted mostly English Canadians and French Canadians. The lack of unity between both cultures resulted in the Quiet Revolution in 1960’s, which was the starting point for the sovereignty movement. The inability of Québec and Canada to resolve their differences regarding Québec separation resulted in events that affected the whole country.

The Canadian confederation brought promise and opportunity to a newly independent nation, this nation consisted of Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. As the only province in Canada with a French speaking minority Quebec faced discrimination and anguish. Its individuals often felt forced to assimilate to English culture causing conflict between the English and French communities. Throughout Canadian history it has been difficult for Quebec to attain the treatment it deserved. It is a result of this treatment that Quebec has previously attempted two referendums for separation. Quebec should not separate from Canada. Quebec, despite being one of the founding provinces wants independence from

As of now we have looked at three points of contention between the two parties. But these are merely pieces of the puzzle, by connecting them together we will see the full picture. First, the sovereigntists see Quebec as a distinct society, which is distinct in its own right due to its distinct culture and institutions. But as history has shown them, the Canadian federation has undermined Quebec and its distinctness. The sovereigntists see this as setting Quebec on a path of continued subjugation under Canadian federalism. Desiring to change the situation they are left with two options, either be recognized and gain autonomy over there culture, or separate from the union and gain autonomy in this way. Canada then is a subjugator of Quebec and is different from Quebec do having different culture and institutions. Furthermore, Canada refuses to recognize this difference. Following from before then, Quebec must leave the union or continued to be subjugated. Therefore, sovereigntists view Quebec as distinct unrecognized state, who has been historically subjugated under Canada, and is on a path of continued subjugation, while they view Canada as different from Quebec and as the subjugator of Quebec.