French-English Relations

Nobody can learn about Canada without acknowledging the presence of the French and their relations with the British. The French were the first Europeans to establish a colonial presence in Canada. The first French colony in Canada was founded in 1534 by Jacques Cartier. However, the colony failed years later and it wasn't until 1608 that Samuel de Champlain established New France. The colony of New France included Quebec and the Maritimes provinces (known as Acadia). Everything remained peaceful until the conquest of Acadia by British forces. The French colonies in Canada came to an end after the Seven Years War. The French lost and Great Britain annexed New France according to the Treaty of Paris. This was the beginning of Quebec under British rule conflicts between the French who lived in Quebec and the British.

British Rule: 1770s-1900s

The British had the deal with many problems in Quebec. Many French refused to leave Quebec and it was really hard to deport all of them since the French population was by then fairly big. The French easily outnumber the British, which makes it hard to rule. To add to that, the French had a very different culture and did not share the religion. To avoid revolts and other problems, the Quebec Act was passed by the British Parliament.  The act guaranteed that the right to freely practice Catholicism and restored the French civil law to everyday life. In 1867, Quebec joined the Confederation and the new country of Canada on terms that French rights and culture will be protected. During this period, many conflicts still occurred. For example, the Boer War created controversy because the Quebecois did not see the point in fighting for a country that they don't live in (U.K.).

Conscription Crisis

In 1914, World War One began. Great Britain immediately joined the war and demanded troops from Canada. At first, people volunteered for the war effort and thought that the war would quickly come to an end. However, this was not the case. The war dragged on for three years, the amount of casualties were piling up, and there were not enough recruits. In order to solve this crisis, the Prime Minister at that time,  Robert Borden, instituted the Military Services Act which allowed conscription to take place if necessary. Almost all of Quebec strongly opposed the act. They view themselves as loyal Quebec citizens and have no interest in fighting a war for a country that conquered them.

The Duplessis Era

Maurice Duplessis was the premier of Quebec from 1936-1939 and 1944-1959. He was a conservative leader who ruled Quebec with an iron fist. He was a devoted Catholic and wanted to connect the church and the state together. He promoted Quebecois nationalism by introducing tradition values such as the 3Fs (faith, farm, and family). Duplessis and his government invested heavily in rural areas instead of urban centre and refused to implement change in a region if there was any opposition against his government. Since the church was very influential to the Quebecois, Duplessis allowed the church to take over many everyday affairs and encouraged religious teachings. However, much of Quebec's infrastructure was not developed and economic centres did not receive funding from the government. Most of the infrastructure that was developed was controlled by the Anglos. Because of this, the Duplessis era was known as the "Great Darkness."

The Quiet Revolution and Today

After Duplessis died, many people noticed that Quebec lagged behind compared to other provinces. In droves, people started voting for the liberal party. In 1960, Jean Lesage was elected for premier. This was the beginning of the Quiet Revolution. He separated provincial institutions from the church and reformed education and healthcare. Lesage's government invested heavily in infrastructure and economic centre and encouraged Quebecois to do the same. These actions were motivated by the idea that the Quebecois should be the "masters of their own house" because the Anglos dominated Quebec's economy during the Duplessis era. These events created a surge of Quebecois nationalism. One of the radical groups, the FLQ or the Front de libération du Québec, planted bombs in Montreal to try to achieve Quebec independence. It was not until the October Crisis that the federal government took action. The kidnapping of James Cross and Pierre Laporte convinced the Prime Minister to issue the War Measures Act, who limited democracy and other rights in order to suppress the FLQ. There were two referendums held to decide if Quebec should cede from Canada. Both of them failed and the Quebec independence movement decreased. Although Quebec may have conflicts with the rest of Canada, they are the foundation of Canada and therefore should stay in Canada.