For the Trudeau government one of the biggest, if not the biggest, provincial priority for the federal government was the issue of Quebec sovereignty. This becomes readily apparent in Peter Gossage and J.I. Little 's An Illustrated History of Quebec and while it focuses on Quebec provincial history from a Quebec perspective, Gossage and Little, describe the relations between the provincial Quebec government, under Premiers Jean-Jacques Bertrand and Robert Bourassa, and Trudeau. Gossage and Little point out as well that despite the fact that Quebec had a larger, and more urban, population than the prairie provinces, the fact that Trudeau himself was from, and educated in, Montreal, meant that he was naturally predisposed to deal with issue that concerned Quebec. Trudeau had good reason to be concerned. With the Quiet Revolution 's …show more content…
While many major companies had their headquarters in Quebec, French-Canadians were actively excluded from any of the well-paid jobs within the corporations or businesses; with English-Canadians being given priority. As a result, English-Canadians came to dominate the Quebec economy and with the advent of the Quiet Revolution, the French-Canadians set about rectifying the situation through a massive expansion of the welfare state and the nationalization of many previously English-Canadian corporations. However, in stark contrast to Trudeau’s approach to Saskatchewan, and the prairie provinces in general, Trudeau, according to Gossage and Little acutely read the political situation in Quebec and adopted a hands-off approach to Quebec and its economy, which again paralleled the approach that Trudeau took to Saskatchewan but Saskatchewan was pressing for federal intervention the Quebec population actively opposed federal intervention at least until the FLQ crisis. This worked in Trudeau 's favour as he did not have to use federal resources to combat separatism in Quebec, apart from changing federal policies to ease Anglo-Quebecois
Canadian history consists of many memorable moments, including many great leaders that helped Canada become what it is today, like the well-known Louis St. Laurent. He was born on Feb. 1st, 1882 in Compton, Quebec, and died on July 25, 1973 in Quebec City (Coucil, 13). Louis St. Laurent was raised in a mixed family, with a French - speaking father, and English - speaking Irish mother, and was fluently bilingual. He studied many years in law, where he graduated from law school, at Laval University in 1914, and had been a successful corporation lawyer (“St-Stephen, St. Laurent”). Laurent entered politics a lot later in his years, as he became older; however he still managed to have a large impact on Canada, and achieved many accomplishments. Louis St. Laurent was an extremely important, and well-respected politician, because he helped resolve the conscription crisis from 1940-1944 (,Pickersgill,14), and prevented the government and cabinet from collapsing, which would have caused the society to fall apart at the time, he was involved in the establishment of the Canada Council, which introduced support for Canadian arts, to help Canada separate from the influence of American culture (Jocelyn), and lastly he welcomed Newfoundland into confederation in 1949 (“Newfoundland History”), which was a large accomplishment because of the failures Many other politicians experienced in trying to do so before.
The years following the Second World War were bleak in regards to Canada's future as a country, with the public and politicians alike set against each other, but soon a Québec man by the name of René Lévesque entered journalism, and then politics, voicing his views for all to hear, with great success and vigour. Though obstacles presented themselves often in his life, he changed the views of Québec, Canada and the world as a whole. René Lévesque was a passionate and charismatic politician who greatly contributed to post-war Québec and even today through his beliefs in separatism, founding the Parti Québecois and passing Bill 101.
“Just watch me.”Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau said in 1970. He meant it as he fought to keep Quebec a part of Canada. Not only did he do that, he managed to be prime minister for 16 years, as well as being Canada’s youngest leader at the time. He brought greater civil rights to Canadians, Quebec citizens mainly. His charismatic personality matched his innovative ideas, that enhanced Canada for the better. For his entire political career, not only did Canada watch him, the whole world watched him change the country for the better. He made a radical change to Canada by championing the idea of officially implementing bilingualism. Trudeau was a trailblazer from the moment he was elected.
To answer this, one must address the severity of the crisis, as well as the degree to which the War Measures Act would alleviate the situation. This proves to be an unexpectedly difficult task, as it is impossible to accurately capture the zeitgeist of such a turbulent time period without being subject to bias. However from a purely objective standpoint, the evidence clearly identifies that there was no insurrection, nor was one likely to take place. Trudeau relied heavily on galvanizing the risk that the FLQ posed to the Canadian public. However, this came to be a detriment to his case when the supposed danger was discredited. According to most authorities, the FLQ “was a collection of scattered, radical grouplets who communicated amongst themselves with great difficulty and apprehension”(Conrad et al). It is of course, rather difficult to carry out widespread insurrection without a cohesive unit to do so. Trudeau’s speech relied heavily on the notion that the FLQ posed a greater threat than they realistically did, and by the end of the crisis it was clear that his claims were null. However, Trudeau did not operate alone in his endeavors. The crisis was rapidly escalated in scale by local and national media alike. The media “Fed the notion of a hydra head conspiracy, unknown, unknowable, but of course infinitely dangerous”, an error that almost did more to aid in the FLQ’s influence over the country, than it did to call in any sort of justifiable action (Bothwell, 447-50). This combined with rumors of Quebec dissolving their government due to the “severity” of the situation, a rumor that was initially reported to be started by Trudeau (although it was enforced by numerous parties”) in order to gain the support of the public for the actions he was preparing to take (Clement). It is generally agreed upon that War
Pierre Elliot Trudeau was arguably one of the most vivacious and charismatic Prime Ministers Canada has ever seen. He wore capes, dated celebrities and always wore a red rose boutonniere. He looked like a superhero, and often acted like one too. Some of the landmark occurrences in Canadian history all happened during the Trudeau era, such as patriating the constitution, creating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the 1980 Quebec Referendum. However, it is Trudeau’s 1969 “white paper” and the Calder legal challenge which many consider to be one of his most influential contributions to Canadian history.
The Quebec referendum that was held in 1995 was a second round of vote that was meant to give the residents of the Quebec province in Canada the chance to determine whether they wanted to secede from Canada and thus establish Quebec as a sovereign state. Quebec has had a long history of wanting to secede from Canada, considering that it is the Canadian providence that is predominantly inhabited by the French-speaking people, whose political relationship with the rest of the Canadian provinces, mostly inhabited by the English-speaking people has been characterized by conflicting ideologies . Thus, the 1995 referendum was not the first political attempt to have Quebec gain its own independence. The discussion holds that the Quebec 1995 referendum would have had both positive and negative implications. Therefore, this discussion seeks to analyze the political consequences that would have f...
Charles-Émile Trudeau was a Conservative, and several of his friends belonged to the Liberal Party. When his father’s friends were visiting at their Lac Tremblant cottage, Pierre was exposed to political debates and rivalries at an early age. He found politics interesting, but could not understand much of it. His father invested in successful several companies at the beginning of the...
Canada: The Quiet Revolution in Quebec The English-French relations have not always been easy. Each is always arguing and accusing the other of wrong doings. All this hatred and differences started in the past, and this Quiet revolution, right after a new Liberal government led by Jean Lesage came in 1960. Thus was the beginning of the Quiet Revolution.
The fall of Quebec was a turning point in Canadian history, changing it from a French colony to a British colony. Had this battle gone the other way, English might be the second language, not French. The battle of Quebec was one of many battles during the 'Seven Year War'. They called it the Maritime War. It was officially declared in May 1756. Britain and Prussia were on one side and France, Spain, and Austria on the other. The war moved across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe because the French and the British were fighting over furs and land. Britain, while subsidizing and aiding Prussia, its only European ally, sought victory in America and sent what was for that century an overwhelming number of regular troops in order to stiffen the military of the American colonies.
Quebec has struggled with a need to be maitres chez nous “masters of their own house” (Young, 1998). Many attempts at resolving Quebec's issues has resulted in tensions from both sides. Because Quebec has a strong national identity, and do not define themselves as strictly Canadian, Quebec is seen as difficult, unyielding and discontented. Quebec's separation perhaps is inedible and the future of Canada questionable. Canada without Quebec will bring about many complications and whether there is a rest of Canada (ROC) after Quebec a major challenge. Western alienation and the lack of representation in federal affairs will be a factor; moreover, past actions and historical events may have turned Canada into a time bomb, and the deterioration of the provinces the only sulotion. How First Ministers react to Quebec's sovereignty regarding economic factors, political structure, and constitutional issues will be of great importance. Whether emotional issues will play a major role in decision making is subjective; however, it is fair to say that it will be an emotionally charged event and it could either tear apart the ROC or fuse it together. Placing emphasis on investigating what keeps Canada together is perhaps the key to Canada's future, and salvaging a relationship with Quebec.
Canada is known by outsiders to be a very peaceful country. But if you ask any Canadian they well tell you that is unfortunately not the case. For there is a large ongoing conflict between Canadians. The conflict is between the French and the English, or more specifically between Quebec and the rest of Canada. As a result of this conflict, along with some wrongdoing and propaganda. Quebec has considered and has gone as far to hold referendums over Separatism (Surette,2014). Separatism is that the province of Quebec separates from the rest of Canada to form its own country. Which would have immense effects on indubitably Quebec but also the rest of Canada (Martin, 2014). This report will focus on the root causes and origin of Quebec Separatism, the current state of Quebec Separatism and finally how we as a society can act towards Quebec Separatism.
government, t. p. (n.d.). Quebec Nationalism - Quebec History. Faculty.marianopolis.edu. Retrieved May 27, 2012, from http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/events/natpart4.htm
It was not until the Quiet Revolution where the voices of Quebecers were surfacing, as they demanded equality and the mobilization of their language rights (Haque 21). They were largely self-interested and this idea of selling multiculturalism was seen as an illusion, which painted Canada with a very uncomfortable picture of immigration (Bissoondath 23). The lack of policies that accompanied multiculturalis...
...e to power in Quebec. This indicates that Quebecers supported non-violent methods in order to achieve independence for Quebec, rather than the violent methods of the FLQ, also indicating that the efforts of the FLQ would have been subdued by the Parti Quebecois. The death of Pierre Laporte was another unfortunate occurrence as a result of the War Measures Act which could have been avoided, yet some still believe his death is not related to the invocation of the War Measures Act. Justification is required for all actions which spark debate, and in events where the justification is provided under false pretences, someone must be held responsible. In this case it remains the Trudeau government. Trudeau may have had an admirable political career in which he made many wise decisions, however, the invocation of the War Measures Act in October 1970 was not one of them.
Since federalism was introduced as an aspect of Canadian political identity, the country has undergone multiple changes as to how federalism works; in other words, over the decades the federal and provincial governments have not always acted in the same way as they do now. Canada, for example, once experienced quasi-federalism, where the provinces are made subordinate to Ottawa. Currently we are in an era of what has been coined “collaborative federalism”. Essentially, as the title would suggest, it implies that the federal and provincial levels of government work together more closely to enact and make policy changes. Unfortunately, this era of collaborative federalism may be ending sooner rather than later – in the past couple decades, the federal and provincial governments have been known to squabble over any and all policy changes in sectors such as health, the environment and fiscal issues. Generally, one would assume that in a regime employing collaborative federalism there would be a certain amount of collaboration. Lately, it seems as though the only time policy changes can take place the federal government is needed to work unilaterally. One area in which collaborative federalism has been nonexistent and unilateral federalism has prevailed and positively affected policy changes is in the Post-Secondary Education (PSE) sector.