Quebec's Struggles for a Distinct Society & Fr-Can Natnalsm
Quebec has always been trying to maintain it's cultural identity. I this essay, I will try to outline the reasons why has this always been the case, and its direct link to French-Canadian nationalism. The path that leads to separatism is a long and winding one. The French saw Confederation as the only solution in 1867. They needed Confederation so they can remain in control of their own language, religion and a way of life. The paradox of the situation was that they also fully understood they would always be the minority in Canada and that as more regions joined Confederation, the situation would only get worse. This was however, preferable to a slow assimilation by the English, since now they could have laws passed that could protect their society.As a minority in a country, Quebec's point of view was often disregarded in favour of the English-speaking majority. The first example of this could be seen from the way the Riel rebellions were handled. In 1885, what became known as the Saskatchewan Rebellion took place. This was led by Louis Riel who went to Batoche to once more set-up a provisional government and prepare the Metis for battle to protect their homes. The revolution was crushed, Louis Riel arrested and taken to Reg
Trudeau was totally in favour of a united Canada and believed that no single province should be given special dispensation for any reason. After this attack, the movement declared, quote: "The independence of Quebec cannot be achieved without social revolution. With growing similarity to the rest of Canada, Quebec saw that it's cultural uniqueness was slipping away. They have continuously seen the rest of the country as an entity always ready to infringe upon, and attempt to assimilate their French distinctiveness, culture and heritage, so naturally they have always struggled to prevent this from happening. As means of doing so, it has even seen the birth of violent organisations such as terrorist groups. The Union Nationale was able to defeat the liberals under their slogan, "equality or independence", which needless to say appealed to a growing number of Quebecer's who wished to separate. " After an emotionally charged campaign, the Liberals won the election of November 14th. Another issue of bitter contention among French and English Canada was the conscription issue. The accord also recognised Quebec as a distinct society but was defeated in October 1992. This was not seen as enough by the extremist groups. Duplessis was elected on a reform platform but the government became more conservative in outlook. Disregarding the jury's express recommendation of mercy, on November 16th 1885, Riel was hung for treason. This reinforced what a growing number of people in Quebec believed, regarding the future of what they saw as a unique culture. In the same year, members of the extremist FLQ kidnapped and killed Pierre Laporte, the minister of labor.
Common topics in this essay:
Canada Quebec,
FLQ Demonstrations,
Quebec West,
Rene Levesque,
FLQ Front,
Nationale Party,
French Confederation,
Lake Accord,
Federal Government,
NATO NORAD,
rest canada,
liberal party,
people quebec,
federal government,
distinct society,
french english,
separatist movement,
english speaking,
war measures act,
canada nation,
riel hung,
rest canada quebec,
lesage liberal party,
quebec rest canada,
rassemblement pour l'independance,
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Acceptance Essays
