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Chapter Sixteen

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Chapter Sixteen Ch a p t e r Si x t e e n National Unity Figure 16-1 Québec cartoonist Terry Mosher, also known as Aislin, drew this Figure 7-1cartoon In 1970, in 1990 Manitoba to show celebrated his opinion its 100th anniversary of enteringof the into way Confederation. constitutional As debates part of hadthat celebration, in 1971 a statueaffected (below) Canadian of Métis unity. leader Louis Riel was unveiled on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg. In the following years, controversies erupted over the statue; over Riel’s naked and contorted figure, and over the role Riel played in the time leading up to Manitoba’s entrance into Confederation and beyond. In 1995, the statue was removed from the grounds of the legislature to Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface and was replaced on the grounds of the legislature by another statue (left). The removal and replacement of the original statue caused a controversy of its own. Figure 16-2 In 1995, just days before Québec held a referendum on whether to separate from Canada, thousands of Canadians from across the country descended on Montréal to tell Québec that they wanted the province to stay united with Canada. image P7-39 460 CLUSTER 5 • Defining Contemporary Canada (1982 to present) • MHR How has the question of national unity influenced federalism, constitutional debate, and political change? To explore this essentialEssential question,Question, you you will will KEY TERMS • examine the issues,attempts events, to have and Québec people signthat theshaped Canadian the history ofConstitution the Métis in through Western the Canada Meech from Lake 1869–1885 Accord and including the assimilatedMeech Lake Accord MarginalizationCharlottetown - Charlottetown the sale of Rupert’s Accord Land MéAccord tis National • investigate the debate over Québec’s place in the Canadian - the Red River Resistance CalgaryCommittee Declaration federation - the role and legacy of Louis Riel MichifClarity Act • - explore the Manitoba the formation Act, 1870of new federal political parties and their reconciliationRomanow Report regional interests - the dispersal of the Métis river lots • discover challenges in federal–provincial relations scrip - the Northwest Resistance square-mile lots Getting• examine the Startedpolitical, social, and economic lives of the Métis surveyors before and after Confederation. When the British North America Act was patriated in 1982, the Government of Québec refused to give its assent—approval for theGetting act. Québec’s Started refusal kept alive the question of its place in Confederation.Study the two statues Should of Québec Métis leader be given Louis status Riel as on a pagedistinct 100. society? How Thisare these question two statues opened similar? the door How for areother they regions different? to also The question controversy whetherabout the the statues Canadian is an importantgovernment part understood of understanding or appreciated history. their It is aboutdistinctiveness. understanding Discontent the past became to better so strongunderstand in the the West present. that some beganTo tounderstand talk about Riel, separation you must from Canada. National unity became looka growing deeply concern and widely for many into the Canadian citizens and for the federal past.government. What different perceptions and• Examine perspectives Figure about 16-1 Riel on pagedo 460. What youdoes see thisin these cartoon statues? say about the toll that Enduring Understandings • Wasnational he a unity victim debates of colonialism? had on Canada? Enduring Understandings • DidHow he, might like ordinaryso many historicalCanadians be By the end of this chapter, you will gain a greater leaders,affected takeby debates charge aboutand help national to unity?understanding that: • Nouvelle-France, Acadie, Québec, and • shape Examine the Figurefuture 16-2.of the What West? does this rally• The relationshipfrancophone between communities Aboriginal and across non-Aboriginal Canada • Wassay about he a martyrCanadians’ for all desire for national peoples mayhave be broadlyplayed adefined role in asshaping a transition Canadian from Canadians?unity? Do you think the same would pre-contacthistory through and the identity. stages of co-existence, colonialism, and cultural and political resurgence • Washappen he theif the founder West wantedand protector to separate from • As a result of Québec’s unique identity and Canada? Why or why not? • Since the beginningshistory, its of place colonization, in the Canadian First Nations, confederation Inuit, of a sovereign Métis state? and Métis peoplescontinues have to bestruggled the subject to retain of debate. and later, to • Was he, as many during his time regain their• French–English cultural, political relations and economic play an ongoingrights believed, a traitor to Canada? • Nouvelle-France,role in Acadie, the debate Québec, about and majority–minority francophone • Was he all of these? None of communitiesresponsibilities across Canada and have rights played of citizens a role inin Canada. shaping Canadian history and identity these? Or is there truth, in part, • The role of government and the division of to all of them? • The history ofpowers governance and responsibilities in Canada is characterized in Canada’s federal by a transition systemfrom indigenous are subjects self-government of ongoing negotiation. through French and British colonial rule to a self-governing confederation of provinces and territories m h r • National Unity • CHAPTER 16 461 ‘ Thinking Historically THE PLACE OF QUEBEC IN CANADA HS Establishing historical significance E Using primary-source evidence The Rise of Québec Nationalism to 1980 C&C Identifying continuity and change The Quiet Revolution marked the beginning of another rise in Québec CHECKFORWARD C C Analyzing cause and consequence nationalism. Growing pride in Québécois culture inspired a new sense HP Taking a historical perspective of nationalism in Québec. Many Québécois believed that their culture and identity would be better protected if their province separated from ED Considering the ethical dimensions of history Canada. In the 1960s and 1970s, there were violent reminders of this desire to separate, including the FLQ crisis. Beginning when René Lévesque founded the Parti Québécois in 1968, Québec nationalism took a new political goal. It become focused on achieving sovereignty for Québec. In CHECKBACK 1980, the first sovereignty-association referendum was held in Québec. Although sovereignty-association was defeated, the referendum showed that You learned about the growth of Québec nationalism and the a large number of Québécois wanted to pursue the idea of independence. FLQ in Chapter 14. Recognition as a Distinct Society As you learned in Chapter 15, Québec did not sign the 1982 Constitution Act because it felt excluded from the final deliberations. In spite of this, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the Constitution applies to Québec whether it has signed the Constitution or not. Prime Minister Trudeau believed that patriating the Constitution would dampen the sovereignty movement in Québec. However, some Canadians believe that the patriation process increased the strength and determination of Québec séparatistes. Many Québécois, whether sovereigntists or federalists, sought the recognition of Québec as a distinct society. Among those who supported Québec sovereignty, the recognition of Québec as a distinct society was viewed as an essential first step toward separation from Canada. Changing Politics in Canada In 1984, Trudeau stepped down as leader of Canada’s Liberal Party and as prime minister. Trudeau was replaced by John Turner, who quickly called for a federal election, hoping to win another Liberal victory. But by then, the Liberal Party had been in power for most of the previous twenty years. The party faced a long list of complaints, and in the election, the Liberals were soundly defeated. The Progressive Conservative Party and its new leader, Brian Mulroney, came to power. Figure 16-3 Brian Mulroney’s victory in the September 1984 federal election marked a significant change in Canadian politics. After almost twenty years of Liberal governments, Canadians elected a Progressive Conservative majority government. 462 CLUSTER 5 • Defining Contemporary Canada (1982 to present) • MHR Meech Lake Accord A bilingual Québécois, Prime Minister Mulroney had strong support in his home province, especially among federalists. He viewed the failure to include Québec in the Constitution as a key political issue and promised to deal with Québécois dissatisfaction over the way former prime minister Pierre Trudeau had patriated the Constitution. Mulroney believed that the time was right to persuade the Québec government to sign the Constitution. René Lévesque had retired; the Parti Québécois had been defeated in the 1985 provincial election; and Québec’s new Liberal premier, Robert Bourassa, was a federalist. HS How might Québec’s acceptance of the Constitution have affected the lives of Canadians in general? How would gaining Québec’s acceptance have been historically significant? Bourassa’s Demands In response to Mulroney’s pressure on Québec to sign the Constitution Act, Premier Bourassa established five demands that he said would have to be included in any new constitutional arrangement so that Québec could sign with dignity and honour: • veto power for Québec on any constitutional amendments • input for the province on the naming of justices to the Supreme Court of Canada • limits
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