The September Crisis Of Canada

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

The Front de Libération du Québec, or the FLQ was the main group that was responsible for the October Crisis. This group of French Canadians were violent to reach their goals. FLQ members were trained by revolutionaries who supported Che Guevara, and some were trained by Palestinian commandos. They’ve committed 200 violent actions, have robbed banks, and participated in bombings. Not only did they commit those actions but they also kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross and kidnapped Pierre Laporte. Laporte was found dead on October 17, 1970 which led to Prime Minister Trudeau broadcasting the FLQ manifesto and transporting five FLQ terrorists to Cuba to release James Cross. The government responded to this crisis by implementing the War Measures Act. This gave the government the power to take people’s civil rights away. They responded with the crisis using the War Measures Act as they believed that the people wanted to overthrow the Canadian government. French-English relations were greatly affected from the October

The Quebec City mayor sent reinforcements from Ottawa to help control the rioting, which had been going on for two days. On the Easter Monday the crowds organized against the military presence in the city. Armed rioters started to fire at the troops and vise versa. There was an estimated four men killed by the fire and dozens injured. These riots represent one of the most violent disturbances in Canadian history. These riots erupted over conscription, which grew from how things were before in French Canadian nationalism. The military crackdown that lasted in Quebec until the end of the war resulted in an increase in state power in the growing of French Canadian nationalism. These riots over the conscription and the French Canadians sticking to their ways lead to a many difficult and unpleasant times in Quebec.

From the overthrowing of the Russian Tsar to the exile of the Nationalists, the world has been in a state where radical movements have been the main focus of citizens, even in democratic societies. The October Crisis was one of these extraordinary events that had occurred. It was a period of international and national revolutionary movements that used violent acts against constitutional measures. The 1970 October Crisis was a pivotal moment that had an undeniable and lasting impact on Canadians as it revealed the wisdom of Trudeau’s decision to enact the War Measures Act, demonstrated that the FLQ (a left-winged terrorist organization) was not a good representative of the French-Canadians, and it

Throughout history, the actions of governments have always been debated; however, occasionally there are certain events which spark much controversy, both at the time of the event and by historians today. One of these controversial acts was the invocation of the War Measures Act in 1970, an act which suspended the civil liberties of Canadian citizens. In October 1970, in what became known as the October Crisis, the Front de libération du Québec, (commonly known as the FLQ) which was a French Canadian organization advocating independence from Canada, kidnapped two politicians. This initiated a series of events, one of which was the invocation of the War Measures Act by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Many historians argue that

In October 1970, Canada faced a pressing terrorist attack in Montreal, Quebec by a group known as the Front de Liberation du Quebec, or the FLQ for short. The group committed multiple attacks starting in 1963 that slowly escalated until the October Crisis, where they kidnapped two government officials and proceeded to murder one of them. The Canadian government responded harshly and rapidly. The prime minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, issued the War Measures Act which along with various things allowed the police and military full reign to arrest people and hold them with no explanation. The Canadian population was highly supportive of the government’s action believing that this extreme state repression would bring a finish to the October

The relationship between the Canadian government and Quebec has been in constant turmoil for years. This paper will discuss and critique Quebec’s five demands made in 1986 by the Liberal government and their current implications. Reasonable demands are ones in which a limited amount of asymmetrical federalism grants provincial sovereignty. Currently all provinces have certain guaranteed rights, however Quebec’s rights provide more autonomy. Quebec, though home to the largest population of French speaking Canadians, have asked too much of the Government of Canada. This is evident Quebec’s increased control over immigration, Supreme Court Justices appointment, and their veto on future constitutional negotiations. Conversely, the demand of recognizing Quebec as a distinct society is however reasonable and has been accommodated into Canadian society, and the ability to restrict federal spending power keeps the federal power in check. In this essay, I will discuss each demand, and argue whether or not it is reasonable.

Plenty of the Québécois had dissenting opinions on how they would achieve their final goal, and one of these opinons, was to refer to terrorism. A group of people that were known as the Front de Libération du Quebec, thought that an independent could only be achieved through the usage of violence, and thus started a small period of terror in the province. On the 7th of March, 1963, a railroad bombing, orchestrated by the FLQ took place

“Gens du pays, c 'est votre tour, De vous laisser parler d 'amour”, those were the only words to be heard across the arena, as Rene Levesque, then Prime Minister of Quebec delivered his speech on the defeat of the Sovereignty Association Referendum. His speech, “À la prochaine fois” (“Until next time”) was one that he hoped to never deliver during his lifetime. On May 20th, 1980, the long awaited referendum that would lead to negotiations with Canada for the province, Quebec, resulted in a resounding no, with a 59.5% vote. (Lévesque, 1980) The defeat marked a resounding blow and stalemate to Levesque’s hopes of establishing an independent Quebec and defeating his long term rival, Pierre Trudeau. In an emotionally wrought campaign that swept the nation, the outcome of the referendum was determined by Quebec Prime Minister, Rene Levesque’s inability to manipulate ambiguous language where Trudeau succeeded, swaying the largely uncertain voters in favour of the federalists. Though the two principles of the respective sides contradicted each other, and was thus, the underlying cause of the referendum, it was the personal nature of the conflict between Trudeau and Levesque coupled with the manipulation of language that would ultimately influence the results of the referendum.

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.

In the history of Canadian government, two scandals have brought down two federal governments in Canada since confederation. The Pacific Scandal in1873 under the leadership of John A. Macdonald and the Sponsorship Scandal in 1995 under Jean Chrétien both led to the demise of each government. The Sponsorship Scandal, which began in 1995, was a more serious scandal due to the legal, ethical and long lasting political ramifications of the scandal.

The crisis involved members of the terrorist organization Front de liberation du Quebec (FLQ) . They started placing bombs in random public places. The majority of these terrorist were nationalist from Quebec to achieve the goal separation from the federation. These attacks resulted the abduction James Cross a British diplomat and Pierre Laporte, a minister in the provincial government. These had some demands which included a ransom of $500,000.Trudeau refused to meets these demands since it would only lead to more attacks and greater demands.

Trudeau’s approach to the situation provided Canadians security and safety. During Trudeau’s time in office, Quebec separatism was becoming an alarming issue. A terrorist organization, Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ), was formed in an effort to separate Quebec from the rest of Canada. The extremist brought havoc to Quebec and demanded separation from the “Anglo”(English speaking). On October 5, 1970, the FLQ kidnapped British trade commissioner James Cross. They demanded the release of FLQ members, the payment of $500,000, the publication of the FLQ manifesto and an airplane ticket to either Cuba or Algeria. After, the FLQ went on to kidnap Quebec Cabinet Minister of Labour and Immigration, Pierre Laporte, on October 10, 1970. In retaliation and for the security of the people, Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act. The War Measures Act, called in military personnel in Quebec to restore order, provide security and to help bring an end to the FLQ. With these circumstance the War Measures Act was appropriate action taken, as it brings security to the people of Quebec. Furthermore, it is key to remember the FLQ was a terrorist organization and it was important that Trudeau eliminate the threat they posed to Canadians. Ricci writes in his novel Pierre Elliott Trudeau, “FLQ had been implicated in six deaths and in more than two hundred bombings in Quebec, including

This had made a divide between the civilians creating more pressure on both the government and the terrorists to do something. Because Canada had this terrorist attack happen it opened up not only the government's eyes but the civilians eyes and made them realize that terrorism was not such a foreign thing and that it is a possible thing to happen in countries like Canada. This realization caused some people to flee Quebec in search for a more calm province. This also pressured Quebec to make the decision in the future to stay a part of

Within Quebec tensions and emotions ran high as families, friends and neighbours passionately debated "Oui" (supporting separation) or "Non" (opposing separation).” ("Oui" or, 2001) This shows that the Quebec’s population was even in conflict at the time to separate or not. This must have impacted emotionally as people began choosing sides. This proves that Quebec population wasn’t even sure to split or not because the people had opinions on both sides of the matter since, their people were people on both sides of the spectrum. The population was influenced by the FLQ since there was both people who were against it and people who sympathized with them. The media influence the population until the death of a hostage and it is projected by the government; “Several members of the Quebec National Assembly and government ministers criticized the media sharply. The Liberal Party whip, Louis-Philippe Lacroix, accused the journalists of being responsible for the death of Pierre Laporte; he labeled them the gravediggers of