Ethnic Conflict
Canada, Quebec, and the FLQ
Questions for Today
•	Are the Quebeckers a genuine ethnicity?
•	Why do they think they are?
•	Why do they want to be separate from Canada?
•	Do they have a moral right for separation?
•	What is the solution?
Population of Canada
•	Population
–	33,057,400
•	Population Origins:
–	British Isles origin 	28%
–	French origin 	23%
–	Other European 	15%
–	Amerindian 	2%
–	Mixed background 	26%
•	Population Growth:
–	Rate since 2001:  	5.4%
–	Primary source:  	Immigration 
•	Highest per capita in the world
Language in Canada
•	Bilingualism is the law
•	
•	Official languages:
–	English:	
•	Mother tongue: 	59.7%
•	Home Language: 	68.3%
•	English Only:	67.5%
–	French:	
•	Mother tongue: 	23.2%
•	Home Language:	22.3%
•	French Only:	13.3%
Language in Quebec
•	Bilingualism is the Canadian law
–	But only at the federal level
–	The official language of Quebec is French
•	In Quebec:	
•	French Speakers:	82.0%
•	English Speakers:	7.9%
–	85% of all French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec
Political Structure 
•	Constitutional Monarchy
•	Parliamentary System
–	Westminster Model
–	Head of Government:
•	Stephen Harper
–	Head of State: 
•	Queen Elizabeth II
•	Multinational Democracy
–	Consociational Democracy
Question:
•	Theory of Ethnic Identity used by the Québécois:
–	 You tell me
The Roots of Ethnic Conflict
•	History
–	French Exploration
–	New France
–	British Colonization
–	Canadian Nationalism
–	Canadian Confederation
–	Dominion of Canada
•	Economics
–	Economic Stagnation
•	Differences
–	Quebec-Canadian Differences
The Early Years
•	Exploration of the New World
•	France sent
–	Explorers
•	Jacques Cartier
•	Samuel de Champlain
•	Charles Albanel
•	Pierre Gaultier de Varennes
•	Louis Hennepin
•	Jean Nicolet
–	Trappers
•	Louis Fornel
•	Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers
•	Hudson’s Bay Company
The Loss of French Strength
•	Hudson’s Bay Company
–	While started by two Frenchmen, it was quickly taken over by the British
•	Treaty of Utrecht 
–	1713
–	New France (Canada) stripped of Acadia, Newfoundland, and Lands of the Hudson Bay
British Colonization
•	Domination of the New World by Britain
•	French and Indian War
–	1754-1763
–	Seven Years’ War
–	Catholic France v Protestant Britain
–	Control over Canada
–	France (and their Indians) lost
–	But, in 1774, the Quebec Act reinstated the borders of New France to quell the French
–	And the 1791 Constitutional Act divided Canada into two provinces
British Colonization
•	(1839) Lord Durham
•	“Report on British Affairs in America”
•	How? Union of Upper and Lower Canada and erase autonomy of French Canada
The Canadian Confederation
•	Britain unified its holdings in North America into one political entity
–	Province of Canada
•	Only Quebec and Ontario
–	Nova Scotia
–	New Brunswick
–	Newfoundland
–	Prince Edward Island
–	British Columbia
•	Included all of western Canada
•	Canadian Confederation created on July 1, 1867
Economic Stagnation
•	Between 1867 and WWII:
–	Ontario received industrial boom
–	Quebec did not
•	Cultural Differences:
–	Quebecois larger families
–	Roman Catholic
–	French Speakers
•	Government of Canada did not help empower the Quebecois culture
British North America Acts
•	Tended to give Quebec what they wanted only when Quebec agitated
–	BNA1867: Canadian Constitution
–	BNA1930: Divided West Canada into constituent territories
–	BNA1946: Power redistribution between east and west
–	BNA1952: Power redistribution between east and west
–	BNA1974: Fixed Quebec’s representation at 75 seats
–	BNA1975: Increased NWT’s seats
Canadian Acts
•	Official Languages Act
–	Passed in 1969
–	French and English coequal in Canada
–	Bilingualism was now the law
–	All governments of Canada had to operate in both English and French
•	Charter of the French Language
–	Also known as: Bill 101 or Loi 101
–	Passed in 1974
–	French Language is the only official language of Quebec
The Quiet Revolution
•	Front de Liberation and War Measures Act
–	Alienation of Quebecers
•	Parti Quebecois 1968
–	Nationalist
–	Arouse from French Canadian Middle Class
•	1982 Quebec left out of Canada’s Constitution
Attempts at Change
•	Meech Lake Accords (1987)
–	Designed to get Quebec to endorse the Canada Act of 1982
–	Quebec had five demands
•	Quebec as a “distinct society”
•	Constitutional veto for Quebec
•	Increased provincial powers with respect to:
–	immigration
–	unfunded mandates
–	appointing Senators and Supreme Court justices
Attempts at Change
•	Meech Lake Accords (1987)
–	Unfortunately, amending the Canada Act requires unanimous vote of the 10 provinces
–	The accords failed by 2 provinces
•	Manitoba
•	Newfoundland
Attempts at Change
•	Charlottetown Accord (1992)
–	Designed to resolve the disputed separation of powers between the central government and the provincial governments
–	Gave more power to the provinces that had the Canada Act
•	Would have allowed Quebec to make most of its own laws

Attempts at Change
•	Charlottetown Accords (1992)
–	When first announced, it had overwhelming support in Anglophone Canada and bare support in Francophone Canada
–	But then,
•	Trudeau (former PM) came out against the accords as they would make Canada more of a confederation 
•	Bloc Québécois and Parti Québécois because it would not give Quebec enough powers
–	Failed by 6 provinces
Sovereignty Vote 1980
•	Question: 
–	“The Government of Quebec has made public its proposal to negotiate a new agreement with the rest of Canada, based on the equality of nations; this agreement would enable Quebec to acquire the exclusive power to make its laws, levy its taxes and establish relations abroad — in other words, sovereignty — and at the same time to maintain with Canada an economic association including a common currency; any change in political status resulting from these negotiations will only be implemented with popular approval through another referendum; on these terms, do you give the Government of Quebec the mandate to negotiate the proposed agreement between Quebec and Canada?”
Sovereignty Vote 1980
•	Results in Quebec:
–	In Favor: 	40.4%
–	Opposed:	59.6%
Sovereignty Vote 1995
•	Similar question
–	BUT: Offered only sovereignty
•	Results in Quebec:
–	In Favor: 	49.4%
–	Opposed:	50.6%
Canadian Issues
•	General problems:
–	Other ethnic groups in Canada
–	Aging male leadership of BQ & PQ
–	“Children of Bill 101” 
–	Unclear definition of Quebecer
•	The terrorist group
–	The Front de libération du Québec
•	1963 – 1971
•	More than 200 bombings
•	Death of five people
•	Two high-profile kidnappings
–	October (1971) Crisis

Legality of Secession
•	Province must seek amendment to constitution 
•	1996 Supreme Court Ruling
–	3 Questions
•	Can Quebec secede unilaterally?
•	Does international law have the right to secede?
•	In conflict between domestic and International law – which takes precedence?
International Reaction
•	Most states supported Canada’s victory after 1995 referendum
•	Canada has the highest Quality of Life – 7 years in a row (World Development Report)
•	Diaspora populations in Canada: Italy, Portugal, Poland, India, Sri Lanka, China, and Philippines.
–	If Canada’s other ethnic groups in Canada did not demand autonomy, the logic went, why should the French?
Moral Secession (Heraclides)
•	Do the Quebeckers have a moral right to secede from Canada?
–	Community support for autonomy
–	Pattern of systematic discrimination, exploitation, or domination
–	Policy of cultural domination
–	State rejects dialogue to solve problems
Questions for Today
•	Are the Quebeckers a genuine ethnicity?
•	Why do they think they are?
•	Why do they want to be separate from Canada?
•	Do they have a moral right for separation?
•	What is the solution?