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Conquest and Rebellion: the Road to French Canada's Participation in Canadian Confederation Through the Lens of La Survivance

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Conquest and Rebellion: the Road to French Canada's Participation in Canadian Confederation Through the Lens of La Survivance Conquest and Rebellion: The Road to French Canada's Participation in Canadian Confederation through the Lens of La Survivance Sarah Spear in collaboration with Clare Burgham CONQUEST AND REBELLION: THE ROAD TO FRENCH CANADA’S PARTICIPATION IN CANADIAN CONFEDERATION THROUGH THE LENS OF LA SURVIVANCE CAPSTONE SEMINAR SERIES Stains, Stones and Stories: Unsettling Representations of Confederation, Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2013. Managing Editor Dr. Anne Trépanier Desk-top publishing Shermeen Nizami Editorial Board John-Paul Abelshauser, James Benning, Emma Gooch, Amanda Murphy, Sarah Spear, Ryan Lux, Jessica Helps, Dr. Konstantin Romanov, Dr. Anne Trépanier Special thanks Patrick Lyons, Andrew Barrett, Emma Gooch, Ryan Lux and Sarah Spear Copyright Notice © Sarah Spear, Clare Burgham, April 2013 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy, or transmission of this publication, or part thereof in excess of one paragraph (other than as a PDF file at the discretion of School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University) may be made without the written permission of the author. To quote this article refer to: ― Sarah Spear, in collaboration with Clare Burgham, Conquest and Rebellion: The Road to French Canada’s Participation in Canadian Confederation through the Lens of La Survivance, Stains, Stones and Stories: Unsettling Representations of Confederation, Volume 3, number 1, Spring 2013, page number and date of accession to this website: http://capstoneseminarseries.wordpress.com 2 SARAH SPEAR IN COLLABORATION WITH CLARE BURGHAM Conquest and Rebellion: The Road to French Canada’s Participation in Canadian Confederation through the Lens of La Survivance ABSTRACT The decision by conservative French Canadian politicians to join Canadian Confederation and participate in the Confederation debates of 1864- 1867 was made in an effort to preserve and protect a unique French Canadian nation and identity. This national identity grew in part as a reaction to British colonial rule after the Conquest of 1763. Continuous attempts by English governance at assimilating and anglicizing the French Canadian population strengthened the nationalist idea of “la survivance”- the cultural survival of French Canadian language, religion and institutions. Notions of national preservation and survival changed from a radical ideology by the rebellious Parti canadien/Patriotes against assimilation throughout the Rebellions of 1837- 1838 and consequences of the Lord Durham Report, to one of a conservative protection of cultural and institutional rights in the entrance and acceptance of Canadian Confederation by the Parti bleu. KEYWORDS Conquest; La survivance; Patriotes; Rebellions; Lord Durham Report; Parti bleu; Parti rouge; Act of Union; Confederation CAPSTONE SEMINAR SERIES Stains, Stones and Stories: Unsettling Representations of Confederation, Volume 3, number 1, Spring 2013 3 CONQUEST AND REBELLION: THE ROAD TO FRENCH CANADA’S PARTICIPATION IN CANADIAN CONFEDERATION THROUGH THE LENS OF LA SURVIVANCE French Canadian political reactions to the proposal of Canadian Confederation in 1864 were mixed, with the debates surrounding it focused on cultural and political preservation and self-governance for the nation. The conservative Parti bleu led by George Etienne Cartier defended confederation for economic and defence reasons, and saw it as a solution to French Canadian self-governance. The more radical Parti rouge however, viewed it as joining the colonizing enemy and the complete assimilation of French Canada to the English. This discussion of cultural preservation and political sovereignty resulted from French Canada’s colonization in 1763 by the British and subsequent attempts at assimilation. One of the most significant instances of British imperialist assimilationist tactics towards French Canada was the production of the Lord Durham report of 1839. The creation of the province of Quebec and its participation in Confederation can be seen as a conservative attempt at preserving French Canadian culture and identity- a choice made within the colonized ideology of la survivance. This ideology of cultural subsistence and survival has been viewed in much of the canon in French Canadian historical writing as a direct result of British colonization and it coloured the decisions to join English Canada made by French Canadian political leaders. 4 SARAH SPEAR IN COLLABORATION WITH CLARE BURGHAM This paper examines the colonial position of French Canada through a narrative of historical moments that exemplify its struggle for la survivance through the Conquest of 1763, Lord Durham Report in 1839, and finally the conservative grasp for protection and survival by joining Canadian Confederation in 1867. Conquest and Colonization The Conquest of 1763, the ceding of New France to Great Britain, has often been interpreted by many French Canadian historians as the beginning of their colonized, minority position within what is currently known as the nation-state of Canada.1 After the Conquest, it became increasingly difficult for the French Canadian nation to survive culturally amongst the dominant English population. Quebec was left with two elements that could contribute to its nationalism, its own piece of territory as well as an officially recognized language. French Canadians believed that if they were able to exercise political control over their land and language, they would be able to survive as a distinct community within Canada.2 As a result of this desire to survive and preserve their culture, French Canadians insisted on language rights and laws that would protect their religion. French Canada’s fierce determination to survive as a unique cultural entity 1 Ramsay Cook, Canada, Quebec, and the Uses of Nationalism. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1986, 51. 2 Ibid., 48. CAPSTONE SEMINAR SERIES Stains, Stones and Stories: Unsettling Representations of Confederation, Volume 3, number 1, Spring 2013 5 CONQUEST AND REBELLION: THE ROAD TO FRENCH CANADA’S PARTICIPATION IN CANADIAN CONFEDERATION THROUGH THE LENS OF LA SURVIVANCE within Canada is what propelled ideas of a dual nationality of French and English into the Confederation process. An independent, distinctive French Canadian nationalism began to form in the decades following the Conquest, as a reaction to British colonial governance. During this time, the British crown’s Constitutional Act of 1791 removed territory that was previously considered part of the province of Quebec from the Quebec Act of 1774 and divided the land and created Upper Canada and Lower Canada in order to provide land for British Loyalists escaping from the American Revolution.3 In terms of governance, the Governor General of British North America represented the interests of the British Crown, and the Act of 1791 established a democratic House of Assembly of representatives in Lower Canada (Quebec). The House of Assembly’s decisions could be vetoed by an upper Legislative Council, whose members were expected to serve life-long terms and were undemocratically appointed by the British Crown.4 As well, British criminal law replaced the traditional French civil law system, although historians Dickinson and Young note that informally, the French civil law was still commonly used.5 The shift in power and implementation of British practices, institutions and taxation as well as the influx of British 3 John Dickinson and Brian Young. A Short History of Quebec.Third Edition. Montreal: McGill- Queen’s University Press, 2003, 57 4 Allan Greer. The Patriots and the People: The Rebellion of 1837 in Rural Lower Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993, 113 5 Dickinson and Young, 55 6 SARAH SPEAR IN COLLABORATION WITH CLARE BURGHAM immigrants and Loyalists to both Upper and Lower Canada influenced retaliations to colonial rule by bourgeoning French Canadian nationalists. French Canadian Nationalism and Rebellion An offense to British governance was vocalized by politicians and journalists such as Pierre Bédard, who in the early 1800s helped found the French Canadian nationalist party, le Parti canadien, as well as the newspaper which espoused the party’s political rhetoric, Le Canadien.6 Historian Claude Bélanger states that Le Canadien’s slogan was “Notre foi, notre langue, nos institutions [our faith, our language, our institutions].”7 This slogan encapsulates the ideological thrust of the nationalist movement and eventual rebellion against English colonial rule. To avoid assimilation and keep their heritage and traditions alive, French Canadians must guard their Roman Catholic faith, French language and institutions. These “pillars of survival” were connected and supported the survival of the Catholic Church and the French language in the fundamental societal structure and institutions such as education, health care, politics, and the civil law system.8 These pillars are what nationalists such as Louis- Joseph Papineau defended when he led the Parti canadien against the abuses of British executive power in the Rebellions of 1837 and 1838. 6 Claude Bélanger, “The Three Pillars of Survival” Quebec History. Marianapolis College, 2000 7Greer 122; Bélanger, 2000 8 Bélanger, 2000 CAPSTONE SEMINAR SERIES Stains, Stones and Stories: Unsettling Representations of Confederation, Volume 3, number 1, Spring 2013 7 CONQUEST AND REBELLION: THE ROAD TO FRENCH CANADA’S PARTICIPATION IN CANADIAN CONFEDERATION THROUGH THE LENS OF LA SURVIVANCE During the years of 1837 and 1838 the Parti patriote led a militant revolt in protest over unfair British governance
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