French-English Relations throughout the 20th Century
Main topic
1914 - 1929
1
1945 - 1982
1
The Military Service Act of 1917 was a law where if any Canadian man could fight during WWI, then they would have to fight. The term used for this was conscription. A lot of people were against it and mostly it was French Canadians.
When Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914, it meant that Canada had automatically joined the war as well. French Canadians did not have any loyalty to Britain so they didn't want to get involved.
Military Service Act of 1917
Anti-Conscription Riots in 1918
Anti-conscription rights broke out in Quebec in 1918 which caused 150 people wounded and 4 civilians killed when soldiers fired at the crowd. This put a wall in between French and English relations.
1929 - 1945
- Conscription
- Anti
- Military Act
Keywords
The anti-conscription riots were because of the Military Service Act which was putting conscription on the country which meant any man who could fight had to fight no matter what.
Union Nationale Is Founded
In 1935, the Union Nationale is founded which is a Quebec political party. The political party was made for the provincial election in Quebec.
Beginning of the Great Depression
The Great Depression was an event that was worldwide and caused major countries economic systems to crash. Canada was affected by this just like other places.Montreal had heavy unemployment and caused the loss of a lot of resources.
Beginning of WWII and Conscription
When WWII started in 1939, military conscription was though of again. Conscription was once again used in the second world war which majority of French Canadian were once again against but didn't cause as much as an uproar as the last time it was used.
The Military Service Act once again occured for the second world war where the government used conscription to get more soldiers to fight in the battle.
- Economic
- political
- Premier
- Union
- Nationale
Keywords
Maurice Duplessis
Maurice Duplessis was the premier of Quebec from 1936 to 1939 and 1944 to 1959.
Maurice Duplessis was also the founder of Union Nationale and it's leader until he died in 1959.
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Robert Borden
Robert Borden was a lawyer and served as the 8th prime minister of Canada. He was in office from 1911 - 1920 and it known for his leadership skills that were used during the first world war to aid Canada.
Robert Borden came up the idea of conscription and the Military Service Act in 1917 which caused majority of French Canadians to be against him and the Military Service Act.
Translation: "Now or Never! Masters in Our Own Home".
When Jean Lesage was elected premier of Quebec in 1960, his government started a movement to modernize more things like education and health care. Quebec wanted to do their own things without relying on the federal government which lead to the question, should Quebec be independent from Canada?
The October Crisis
The October Crisis was an event in 1970 that went on for several weeks. The crisis was caused by a group known as Front De Liberation du Quebec or FLQ for short. They were a revolutionary group that wanted independence for Quebec and would use violence for their cause. The people involved with the kidnapping of James Cross and murder of Pierre Laporte were arrested and given heavy life sentences.
James Cross
James Cross is a former diplomat of Canada and British Trade Commissioner. Cross was heavily involved in the October Crisis.
On October 5, 1970, the FLQ kidnapped James Cross from his home. FLQ had demands for James Cross's release. They wanted half a million dollar ransom and to broadcast their manifesto. The manifesto was played on Radio-Canada and on October 10, the Quebec offered safe passage for the kidnappers if they released James Cross. On the same day,a man named Pierre Laporte was taken by them. James Cross was released in December after being in a cell for more than a month.
Pierre Laporte
Pierre Laporte was a French Canadian lawyer and politician as well the Deputy Premier of Quebec. This changed after he was kidnapped by the FLQ.
On October 10, 1970, Pierre Laporte was kidnapped by the Front De Liberation du Quebec. Laporte was the second person to be kidnapped by the revolutionary group, the first person was James Cross. After Pierre Laporte was kidnapped, PM Pierre Trudeau set the War Measures Act in place meaning the Canadian military and police forces could arrest and detain people and would have more overall power. 450 people were arrested but most of them were released later. On October 17, Pierre Laporte was found dead in the trunk of a car.
The Quebec Referendum of 1980
The Quebec Referendum of 1980 was when Parti Quebecois which was a provincial political party of Quebec, came up with an agreement to become independent from Canada. They let the citizens of Canada vote and about 60% of people said "No" to this agreement.
- Referendum
Front De Liberation du Quebec
- Modernize
- Independance
- War Measures Act
- Revolutionary
Keywords
1982 - Present
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord of 1987 was an attempt to get Quebec to sign a Constitution that would have Quebec be recognized as a "distant society".
Brian Mulrony
Brian Mulrony is a Canadian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993
Brian Mulrony was Prime Minister when he tried to get Quebec to sign the Meech Lake Accord. This never happened and it led to the Quebec Referendum of 1995.
The Quebec Referendum of 1995
The Quebec Referendum of 1995, just like the one in 1985, was an agreement of Quebec becoming independent from Canada. Once again, this agreement was up to the people of Canada. 50.58% of people said "No" to Quebec leaving Canada and 49.42% percent of people said "Yes" to Quebec leaving Canada.
The Quebecois Nation Motion
The Quebecois Nation Motion of 2006 was when the federal government finally recognized Quebec as a nation that is united with Canada. This motion was set in by the Prime Minister of the time who was Stephen Harper
