Unit Four: Illiberalism and Our Role

Appeasement

Giving into the demands of another

Civil disobedience

Non-violent protest which takes the form of a refusal to obey a law on the basis that the law is unjust

Civil liberties

Freedoms granted to all citizens of a country

Detainee

A person held in custody by an armed force

Direct democracy

A form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies

Draft

Compulsory military service; conscription

Electoral college

A body of electors chosen by the voters in each state to elect the president and vice president of the U.S. (a plurality or first-past-the-post electoral system)

Enfranchisement

Granting people the rights of citizens, especially the right to vote

Eurocentric

An ideal emphasizing the values and perspective of European tradition and institutions, often to the detriment of other people's values

Extremism

The holding of extreme political or religious views; fanaticism

Federalist

A person who believes in a unified and strong nation governed by the federal government

Francophone

A person whose first language is French

Front de libération du Québec (FLQ)

A nationalist group in Québec that used terrorism and was responsible for many bombings and several deaths

Illiberal

About aspects of liberal democracy that suppress citizens' civil liberties

Indian Act

An act of the Canadian Parliament passed in 1867, which dealt with the rights of First Nations people who signed treaties or became registered citizens under the act

Paradigm

A set of assumptions, concepts, or values which shape the way an individual views the world

Plurality voting

Or first-past-the-post, in which a candidate wins a seat based on the most votes when 3 or more candidates are running

Popular vote

The percentage of the total votes cast received by a candidate or a political party

Postmodernism

Skepticism toward the values of modernism; rejection of the role or ideology of maintaining political power

Proportional representation

An electoral system in which candidates of a political party are elected based on the share of the popular vote each political party receives in an election

Québécois

French-speaking people born in Québec

Residential Schools

A school system created under the Indian Act which attempted to assimilate Aboriginal people

War Measures Act

An act that gives emergency powers to the federal Cabinet to limit the freedom of Canadians during times of "war, invasion, or insurrection"

White Paper

An official government document released in 1969, which attempted to further assimilate First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples of Canada