The Dual Nature Of The French And English Faultline In Canada

Quebec was founded by French settlers during the 16th century. It was then conquered by the British (known as the conquest of New France in 1760). “The Philosophy of the Enlightment” allowed Britain’s victory to treat the French people with dignity as both nations were civilized societies (source?). The British allowed the French occupants to maintain cultural aspects such as language and traditions (source?). In effect, The Quebec Act was published in 1974, in efforts to ensure loyalty from the French as the British government worried that the remaining French people would support the American Independent War (source?). The act was favourable for French people; allowing the continual practice of

separate. Quebec has been one of the provinces of Canada for a long period of

The concept of recognizing Quebec as a distinct society is an idea that has been kicking around for some time, but just what does it mean and what are its broader implications? This paper will examine the origins of the term, what it means, and its historical context. It will then examine rival interpretations of federalism. The essay will conclude with an in-depth examination of the concept's involvement with the failed constitutional accords and the failed Quebec succession attempts.

During the 1960s, Quebec nationalism changed to focus on reform and independence. These changes effected French-English relations in many ways. First, Quebec’s new independent attitude caused tension between French and English Canadians because of many reforms brought in by the Lesage government. Secondly, Quebec’s new attitude also tried to improve French-English relations with the creation of the Bi and Bi Commission. Also, Quebec’s government started to make decisions on their own which didn’t sit very well with the Canadian government. “The government embarked on a series of reforms that altered substantially conditions in Quebec: … creation of the Quebec Pension Plan (1965) … The second source of tension has already been pointed out: the Lesage government brought in many

The relationship between the Canadian government and Quebec has been in constant turmoil for years. This paper will discuss and critique Quebec’s five demands made in 1986 by the Liberal government and their current implications. Reasonable demands are ones in which a limited amount of asymmetrical federalism grants provincial sovereignty. Currently all provinces have certain guaranteed rights, however Quebec’s rights provide more autonomy. Quebec, though home to the largest population of French speaking Canadians, have asked too much of the Government of Canada. This is evident Quebec’s increased control over immigration, Supreme Court Justices appointment, and their veto on future constitutional negotiations. Conversely, the demand of recognizing Quebec as a distinct society is however reasonable and has been accommodated into Canadian society, and the ability to restrict federal spending power keeps the federal power in check. In this essay, I will discuss each demand, and argue whether or not it is reasonable.

Bone used four distinct faultlines to support his descriptions of each regions of Canada. He argued that we can analyze Canada’s geography by outlining four tensional faultlines and they include; English and French Canadians, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, centralist and decentralist, and the , and immigration forces. According to Bone, faultlines refers to the economic, social and political cracks that divide region and people. For example, he mentioned about the centralist and decentralist faultlines. The majority of national population is concentrated in the central Canada and often supported from central government and national policies, while other provinces are out of interest. When the role of federal government was to maintain

Though the beginning of the separatist movement was marred by fighting and violence, the vast majority of the conflict has been a political one. The reason for the revolution in Quebec stems from the restrictions placed upon the populace by the English. These restrictions were on both the language and culture of the Quebecois, and caused them to feel trapped in under the English rule, for lack of a better term. This revolution is on a much less certain foot than the others however, with many of the younger citizens not remember the restrictions of days

The French established three colonies in North America during the 1600s and 1700s. Louisiana and Canada were two of the three colonies. The colony of Canada extended from the north east coast where New Foundland was, down to the Great Lakes. Canada had no real settlements, however, they had many posts which served as trading posts and military support. The colony experienced harsh winters and short growing seasons and because of this their farming efforts usually failed and populations never grew. Since they had little to no success in farming, their economy thrived on fur trade with natives. By creating close ties with the natives they were able to trade metal goods for fur and then craft the fur and later profit from it. In the 1660s the

Regardless of this fact, they had succeeded in establishing a strong relationship with Native Americans, and their fur trade was significantly strong. It went on further even after they had lost their territories. This led to the formation of the Quebec settlement, which was a center for the fur trade that had now been monopolized by the French. Other countries attempted to venture into the business with no success, and France succeeded in exporting fur across the European region. Quebec was eventually captured in the year

Since the beginning of Canadian history, regionalism has had a prominent effect on the country`s political system. The concept of regionalism can be defined as a political ideology grounded on a shared sense of place or attachment and is discussed in terms of Canadian society, culture, economy and politics.1 From the days of confederation, Canada has developed into regional cleavages and identities based on various geographical characteristics, traditional lifestyles and economic interests. Two of Canada`s greatest regionally distinct political cultures are known as Western alienation and Quebec nationalism.2 Historically, the lack of regional awareness and accommodation within Canada’s central government has given rise to a great deal

Finally in 1867, the United Canadas joined two other British Colonies, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to form the Dominion of Canada (McRoberts 1991, 413). French-Canadians continued to fight against assimilation and received autonomous privileges with exclusive jurisdiction over matters regarding its cultural distinctiveness***. Thus, the Francophone language and culture has always been at the forefront of Quebec priorities. Since Confederation, Quebec nationalist have felt that the Francophone language and culture has been at risk of assimilation by the rest of Canada. As a result, Quebec nationalism is fundamentally rooted in the preservation of the Francophone language and culture (Guiberneau 2006, 52). Political leaders in Quebec continuously urge for the recognition that Canada is composed of two nations or cultures (McRoberts 1991, 413). Prior to confederation Quebec enjoyed numerous autonomous privileges. Unfortunately, post-confederation Quebec did not enjoy as many autonomous privileges because Canada was created as a relatively centralized federation (Beland and Lecours 2007, 406). A centralized federation not only took several of these autonomous powers away from Quebec, but it also threatened the Francophone language and culture (Beland and Lecours 2007, 406). With this said, Quebec nationalism has placed a great deal of pressure on the federal government to decentralize, giving more powers to provincial governments.

“New France was not merely the settlement of a few fur traders.” The Acadians were “a pastoral-like people who once formed a proud nation in a land called Acadia.” Although falling under the jurisdiction of “New France,” the Acadians governed separately than the rest of the country and were an independent entity within New France. Today, “the Acadians are the French speaking population of the Canadian Maritime provinces,” and these are the Acadians that were not displaced during the expulsions, under British rule. Acadia’s beginnings, with the construction of Port Royal, could have marked the colony for success, but instead, led to a troubling conclusion for the European descendents. Through failed leadership, two

Countries fight themselves am I right? American fought themselves twice in the mid 1800s and 1900s. During the mid 1900s, Canada did their movement also it was called the Quebec Separatist Movement. The movement was about Quebec’s independence. The movement contained the Prime Minister and this group called Front de Liberation du Quebec. They had kidnapped most influential people in Canada. In the Quebec Separatist Movement, Quebec’s citizens ambition to become independent, the whole country became violent.

In Canadian history, nationalism and sovereignty tend to be common themes prevalent since Confederation. A well-known example of this in Quebec was during the Quiet Revolution which strengthened the need for change through Premier Lesage’s reforms and in turn, developed a strong sense of nationalism in Quebec. In contrast to beliefs that the rapid modernization of the Quiet Revolution had a positive impact on Quebec, it rather had a negative impact on Quebec and its citizens and identity. The three consequences which arose in Quebec as a result of the revolution are the encouragement of separatism, the elimination of traditional values and roles and the establishment of powerful bureaucratic control. Quebec’s attempt to be more like the

Canada has an extremley large geography which plays a tremendous role on many factors that affect Canadians. These factors both help and hinder Canada economically, socially and politically. The geography of Canada has also caused regions to form. For the most part, these regions exist due to physical that are present in Canada's landscape. Canada's geography has also had a large impact on the influences that affect settlers. Canada's relatively low popuation in comparison to the large land mass make Canada a place where people who desire to settle in high population, urban areas or large, isolated, and low-trafficked areas. The high population of people near the Canadian-American border is also a unique feature of Canada, due to the