Untitled Flashcards Set

Acadian Removal

Acadians had been living in present-day Nova Scotia since early 1600s (nearly 150 years).

They spoke French but did not identify with France.

To eliminate a perceived threat in the fight with France, Britain removed the Acadians from their homes.

Resettling the Acadians
The Acadians were dispersed among many colonies.

Nearly 10,000 Acadians were deported after 1755.  Thousands during the removal and resettlement process.

Battle of Plains of Abraham (1759)
The end of French military power in North America.

By the Treaty of Paris (1763), British law replaces French law in all conquered territory.

Catholics (so nearly all French speakers) are barred from holding government positions.

Royal Proclamation - 1763
-issued by King George III on 7 October 1763. 

-establishes the basis for governing the North American territories surrendered by France to Britain

-introduces policies meant to assimilate the French population to British rule

• English criminal and civil (property) law replaces French law

• Catholics (so, most French speakers) are prevented from holding public (government) jobs

  The Proclamation Line 1763

To control settlement and provide a reserve for indigenous communities, Americans are prevented from settling west of the Proclamation Line without the Crown’s approval.

American colonists are unhappy:

• They would like to be rewarded for helping defeat the French

• They would like to move west and make new farms.

The Stamp Act - 1765

To help pay for the war, the British parliament passes a law to tax American colonists.

The American colonies see the tax as unjustified, especially because they were not consulted before its passage.

The Quebec Act - 1774

To build a loyal population in North America (as the American colonies prepare for revolution) this law:

• Revokes the 1763 Proclamation Act (which had aimed to assimilate French speakers).  

• Restores French civil and religious rights in Quebec.

• Extends Quebec’s boundaries southward into the path of American settlement.

Loyalists to Canada
1775-1791

During and after the American Revolution, people loyal to the British Crown (Loyalists) migrate to British North America.

They settle mostly around the Great Lakes and Maritimes, leading to the creation of the colonies of New Brunswick, Cape Breton and Upper Canada, in 1791.

Loyalists were instrumental in establishing educational, religious, social and governmental institutions.

Constitutional Act – 1791
-divides the province (colony) of Quebec in two (Upper Canada and Lower Canada)

-limits the powers of the elected assemblies by creating independent legislative councils made up of appointed members (modelled on the British House of Lords and devoted to the Crown).

-leads to government by rich elites (who own and control land)

Rebellions of 1830s
Angry with their poverty and lack of opportunities, lower-class farmers and laborers in Upper and Lower Canada launch rebellions against the status quo.

Durham Report 1840

Sent by the British Crown to investigate conditions in the colonies, Lord Durham reports that the French Canadians are “a people with no literature and no history.”

He recommends a united province of Canada as a way to assimilate the French under an English-speaking majority.

United Province of Canada (1841-1867)

Upper Canada to benefit from resources of more populous Lower Canada to fund internal improvements

An attempt to undermine voting power of more populous Lower Canada by giving each of the former provinces the same number of seats.

Political deadlock (with equal representation from both sections) leads to demands for separate governments.

Confederation - 1867

The BNA Act (1867) establishes Canada as a bicultural, bilingual country with rights for Francophones and Anglophones.

It makes French and English the official languages of Canada’s parliament.

It guarantees public schools for the Protestant minority in Quebec and the Catholic minorities in the rest of Canada.

Riel Resistance (1869-70) and creation of Manitoba (1870)

In response to the Metis resistance, Manitoba is created as a province with the following safeguards:

• English and French language rights are protected in the new government and courts

• Protestant and Catholic educational rights are preserved (and funded)

Manitoba Schools Act - 1890

By 1890, immigration from Ontario creates a large English Protestant majority who resents public funding for French Catholic schools.

Responding to this pressure, the province passes the Manitoba Schools Act which created a single, non-denominational school system in English only.

Haultain Resolution (1892)

• Calls for legislative proceedings of North-West Territories to be in English only.

• Francophones do not feel as though their rights will be recognized in the West.

  Ordinance Number 22 - 1892

  • Requires English as the language of instruction in all schools in North-West Territories

  
  

  • Contributes to perception among Francophones that Canada is not being developed as a bilingual country.
    Ontario regulation 17 (1912)

  • Ontario Regulation 17 (1912): Restricted French-language instruction in Ontario schools.

  • Key Rules: French only allowed up to Grade 2; after that, English was mandatory.

  • Impact: Sparked significant protests from Franco-Ontarian communities (e.g., "Battle of the Hatpins").

  • Repercussions: Strained English-French relations in Ontario; suppressed French language and culture.

  • Repealed: Effectively shelved in 1927 due to ongoing opposition.

  • Apology: Ontario government formally apologized in 2016 for its negative impact.

    1917 Conscription Crisis (1917)

    • World War I (1917): The Canadian government introduced the Military Service Act to enforce conscription due to dwindling voluntary enlistments.

    • Divided Reaction:

      • English Canadians largely supported conscription, seeing it as a duty to Britain.

      • French Canadians strongly opposed it, citing cultural, linguistic differences, and a lack of connection to Britain.

    • Tensions:

      • Protests, riots, and political divisions emerged, especially in Quebec.

      • Prime Minister Robert Borden's government faced backlash but passed conscription despite resistance.

    • World War II (1944): A second conscription crisis arose under Prime Minister Mackenzie King. Though initially promising no overseas conscription, he enacted limited conscription ("Zombies") due to pressure.

    • Consequences:

      • Deepened rift between English and French Canadians.

      • Long-lasting impact on national unity and French-English relations in Canada.

        1949 Asbestos Strike

        
        The Asbestos Strike began on 14 February 1949 and paralyzed major asbestos mines in Quebec for almost five months. 

        
        

        The Quebec government sided with the main employer, an American-owned company, against the 5,000 unionized mine workers. 

        
        

        One of the longest and most violent labour conflicts in Quebec history, it helped lay the groundwork for the Quiet Revolution

        
        1955 Richard Riots
        After accidentally hitting a referee during a fight during an NHL game, Montreal Canadien Maurice Richard is suspended for the season and playoffs.

        
        

        Montreal Canadiens fans see the suspension as another insult from English-speaking officials who control their economy.

        The Quiet Revolution 1960s

      • Francophones in Quebec resist English control of their economy and Church control of their education system, both of which have diminished their wealth and opportunities.

        
        Independence movements around the world (Cuba, Algeria, Vietnam) contribute to the sense that Quebec is an exploited colony of English-speaking Canadian and American companies, and that it should be sovereign (self-determination) and independent.
        FLQ - 1960s

      • -a separtist movement founded in early 1960s with aim of creating an  independent Quebec through violent means

        
        

        -FLQ declarations call for insurrection against Anglo-Saxon (Anglophone) imperialists

        
        -from 1963 to 1970 nearly 200  attacks on individuals and institutions include bombs in mailboxes, banks and the Montreal Stock Exchange

        1963 - Royal Commission on Bilingualism
        -when it becomes clear  that Francophones have been excluded from key positions in government and industry, parliament creates a commission to study the condition of Francophones in Canada.

        
        -findings lead to passage of  1969 Official Languages Act which gives French and English languages official status in all federal institutions.

        1970 - October Crisis

-following increased bombs and violence, during the fall of 1970, FLQ cells kidnap Quebec Labor Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross.

-Laporte’s body is subsequently found in the trunk of a car.

-To manage the crisis, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invokes the War Measures Act, resulting in widespread arrests and detentions without charges.

-The Crisis signals the end of the idea that violence is the appropriate strategy to acquire independence

1976 - Parti Quebecois forms government

The party was formed in 1968 with the goal of Quebec political and economic sovereignty.

In 1976 the PQ wins 71 of 110 seats in the Quebec legislature.

This victory signals the shift to politics as a means of securing Francophone rights and culture.

1977 - Bill 101
One year after its election, the PQ passes Bill 101 (The Charter of the French Language) to protect and promote the French language in Quebec.

The bill requires French education and restricts the use of English on commercial (business) signs.

It is amended several times over the coming decades

1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The 1982 Charter of Rights provides constitutional protections for the use of both French and English in Quebec and across the country.

Section 23 guarantees that French or English linguistic minorities can receive an education in their first language understood.

In Alberta there are over 25 Francophone schools.