Canadian Identity

French and English Relations

Why the Quiet Revolution Happened

• During the early 1960’s there were many problems in Quebec. The rate of unemployment was one of the highest in Canada and the French had to speak English to keep their jobs. Most of the jobs in the Federal government were held by English Canadians, and only five Cabinet ministers were French-Canadians. To make matters worse French-speaking Quebeckers did not seem to have the fair share of top jobs even in Quebec. In 1961 the average English Quebecker made $4940 a year as compared to $3185 for the French worker.

The Quiet Revolution Begins Quietly

• Jean Lesage and his Liberal Party won the election of 1960 and began to govern Quebec. He wished to clean up the corruption in Quebec’s government, increase pensions and wages, develop natural resources, reform education and develop new industries under French control. In the election of 1962, the Liberal Party slogan was “Maitres Chez Nous” The Lesage government wanted the French to run Quebec and be treated equal to the English across Canada.

The Revolution Becomes Less Quiet

• Lesage wanted to give Quebec more money and power. These demands angered many English Canadians. Daniel Johnson and the Union Nationale, came to power in Quebec in 1966 and supported the ideas of the Quiet Revolution. He wished closer ties between Quebec and France, and invited French President Charles de Gaulle to Quebec in 1967. While talking to a large crowd in Montreal, de Gaulle shouted “Vive le Quebec Libre!” This greatly upset the English and Prime Minister Lester Pearson asked de Gaulle to leave Canada. This upset the French and many radicals turned to violence. They stole guns and ammunition, painted separatist slogans on walls and planted bombs in public buildings

Ottawa Responds

• One attempt by Ottawa to calm French-Canadians was the introduction of the Maple Leaf as Canada’s flag in 1965. The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism declared Canada officially bilingual, made the French and English equal founding people, and offered government services in both languages. The election of Pierre Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada pleased both the French and the English

The Quiet Revolution Gets Noisy in Quebec

• In October of 1970 a French terrorist group, the FLQ, kidnapped James Cross and Pierre Laporte. Cross was freed but Laporte was murdered by the FLQ. This caused more bad feelings between the French and English in Canada. The Liberal leader of Quebec, Robert Bourassa, passed Bill “22” in 1974. This law made French the only official language in Quebec and all businesses were required to operate in French. This law offended many English-Canadians. It also did a great deal to damage the bilingualism policy of Prime Minister Trudeau. On November 15, 1976 the Bourassa government was defeated by the Parti Quebecois. This party stood for the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada.

The October Crisis, 1970

• Please read the FLQ handout and answer the questions listed below.

• Why do you think the FLQ described themselves as “a group of working people of Quebec who are committed to do everything they can for the people of Quebec to take their destiny in their hands”?

• Define the word terrorist.• Define the word patriot.• Do you think that members of the FLQ were

terrorists or patriots?

One Nation or Two?

• On November 15, 1976 the Parti Quebecois won the provincial election in Quebec. Since the Parti Quebecois believe in the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada, they are called SEPARATISTS. They wish to make Quebec a separate country with its own flag, army and national anthem. Even though the Parti Quebecois won the 1976 election, they only received 41% of the votes. This means that over 50% of the voters in Quebec voted against separatism.

Referendum 1980: A Time of Decision

• In the spring of 1980 Rene Levesque held a Referendum to see if people would support his work to separate Quebec from the rest of Canada. Below is the question that Quebeckers were to vote on:

• The government of Quebec has made public its proposal to negotiate a new agreement with the rest of Canada, based on the equality of nations; this agreement would enable Quebec to acquire the exclusive power to make its laws, administer its taxes and establish relations abroad – in other words, sovereignty – and at the same time, to maintain with Canada an economic association including a common currency; any change in political status resulting from these negotiations will be submitted to the people through a referendum; on these terms, do you agree to give the government of Quebec the mandate to negotiate the proposed agreement between Quebec and Canada?

OUI __________ NON_____________

Referendum 1980• What would it have meant to vote “OUI” on this question?• What would it have meant to vote “NON” on this question?• What was the strategy of the separtists in wording the

question this way?• Many prominent Canadians argued either FOR or

AGAINST Quebec’s separation bid. On May 20th, 1980 there was a record turnout at the polls. The results were as follows:French Canadian Quebeckers 60% (OUI)English Canadian Quebeckers 9% (OUI)Others 16% (OUI)Overall 40.6% (OUI) 59.4% (NON)

Quebec and the Constitution

• In 1867 Canadian leaders created the British North America Act, which outlined the basic rules by which Canada would be governed. The BNA Act gave Britain the power to change the basic rules by which Canada was to be governed. In 1982 Prime Minister Trudeau announced that he wanted to change the BNA Act to give Canada the basic power to change its government and take this power away from Britain. All of the provinces agreed, except for Quebec. They were the only province not to sign the new constitution. A Charter of Rights and Freedoms was part of the Constitution, and guaranteed language rights for both the English and the French. In 1982 the Canada Act was signed in Ottawa by the Queen of England. Canada now had complete control over her constitution.

Meech Lake,Charlottetown and the Sovereignty Vote

• For homework, read pages 52 – 53 and explain why the Meech Lake Accord failed.

• Read the handouts describing the Charlottetown Accord and the 1995 Referendum. Complete the corresponding questions and be prepared to discuss the issues at the beginning of class tomorrow.

The Meech Lake Accord

• The only problem with the Constitution Act of 1982 was that it was signed by nine of the ten Canadian provinces. The only province not to sign it was the important province of Quebec. Rene Levesque and his Parti Quebecois refused to sign the new Constitution unless Quebec was given greater power by the federal government in Ottawa. Prime Minister Trudeau worked hard to convince Levesque to sign the Constitution, but in the end Quebec would not and was left outside the Constitution.

Meech Lake Accord• By 1987 Brian Mulroney was the Prime Minister of

Canada and Robert Bourassa was the new leader of Quebec. These men tried, once again, to find a way to bring Quebec into the Canadian Constitution. On April 30th, 1987, the federal government, Quebec and the other nine Canadian provinces signed a temporary agreement at Meech Lake, Quebec. This agreement was known as the Meech Lake Accord. The Meech Lake Accord would bring Quebec into the Constitution and give the ten provinces of Canada greater power. Among the special powers given to Quebec were:

• Recognition of Quebec as a distinct society• Increased control over immigration• Greater say in who became Senators and Supreme

Court Justices

Why Did the Meech Lake Accord Fail?

• Many people supported the Meech Lake Accord because it finally brought Quebec into the Constitution. Other people did not like it because they felt that it gave too much power to the provinces. Both women’s groups and native people’s groups opposed the Accord because they felt the powers given to the provincial governments might weaken their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

• The final draft of the Meech Lake Accord was to be signed by all ten provinces by the end of June 1990. Between 1987 and 1990 a few provinces changed their mind about supporting the Accord. The most vocal opponent of the Accord was Premier Clyde Wells of Newfoundland. However, it was a native Canadian Cree Indian, Elijah Harper from Manitoba, who held up the voting and stopped it from being passed by the deadline. The Meech Lake Accord was dead, and many Quebeckers again began to talk about separating from the rest of Canada

Quebec and the Canadian Identity

• After discussing the handouts and watching the CBC News in Review (November 1995) it is important to discuss how issues of sovereignty have affected the unity of Canada

• Please read A Nation Within a United Canada on page 37 and answer question #3 with a partner

• Next, turn to page 55 and answer question #2 individually