History of Canada (1960-1981)
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Contents |
[edit] The New Flag
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| This article is part of the series: History of Canada |
| New France |
| Canada under British Imperial Control (1764-1867) |
| Post-Confederation Canada (1867-1914) |
| Canada in the World Wars and Interwar Years |
| History of Canada (1945-1960) |
| History of Canada (1960-1981) |
| History of Canada (1982-1992) |
| History of Canada (1992-Present) |
| Military history |
| Economic history |
| Constitutional history |
| Timeline |
Diefenbaker was succeeded by Pearson in 1963, at a time of increasing political unrest in much of the Western world. In Canada the largest crises involved provincial rights, especially in Quebec, where nationalism had been increasing and was on the verge of violent explosion. Pearson recognized Quebec to be a "nation within the nation". One attempt at pacifying Quebec, and moving Canada away from the old British imperialism, was creating a new flag.
The old Red Ensign no longer reflected Canada's place in the world, and Pearson believed a new flag would help unite French and English Canada with truly Canadian symbols. After lengthy debates over numerous designs, the current maple leaf flag was adopted in 1965 and was quickly embraced by the public. Fifteen years before, Quebec had replaced the British provincial flag with the current flag of Quebec, which was quickly embraced by Quebecers.
[edit] The Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution (or Révolution tranquille) began in Quebec when Jean Lesage became premier in 1960. It was, essentially, a peaceful nationalist movement to give to Quebec a modern secular state, seen as the only way to propel Quebec into full modernity. It was characterised by rapid secularization, the creation of a welfare state, and the transformation of the national identity among Francophone Quebecers (from Canadien français to the term Québécois).
[edit] The October Crisis
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, himself a French Canadian, came to power in 1968. Quebec also produced a more radical nationalist group, the Front de Libération du Québec, who since 1963 had been using terrorism in an attempt to make Quebec a sovereign nation. In October of 1970, in response to the arrest of some of its members earlier in the year, the FLQ kidnapped James Cross and Pierre Laporte, later killing Laporte. Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act, declaring martial law in Quebec, and by the end of the year the kidnappers had all been arrested.
[edit] Trudeau and the 1970s
Trudeau was a somewhat unconventional Prime Minister; he was more of a celebrity than previous leaders, and in the 1960s had been the centre of "Trudeaumania". He also did not unquestioningly support the United States, especially over the Vietnam War and relations with the People's Republic of China and Cuba; Richard Nixon particularly disliked him.
Domestically Trudeau had to deal with the aftermath of the October Crisis. The separatist movement was not aided by the violent Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), yet it still existed in a less radical form under Premier René Lévesque (1976-1985). Lévesque came to power as leader of the Parti Québécois, which wanted to make Quebec at least an autonomous society in Canada and at best an independent nation. A step towards this was taken in 1977 with the adoption of Bill 101, making French the only official language in the province.
[edit] Canada and the Vietnam War
While Canada had participated extensively in the Korean War, it was officially a non-participant in the Vietnam War. Setting itself apart from America's Truman and Eisenhower Doctrines, Canada was involved in diplomatic efforts to discourage escalation of the conflict, and set conditions that required a much greater level of multilateralism than existed for it to join the SEATO military pact and commit troops.
The war was generally unpopular among the public and the counterculture of the day had strong ties with American organizations like Students for a Democratic Society. Canadian anti-war activists encouraged American draftees to head north, offering them extensive counsel and assistance. Draft dodgers were generally accepted as immigrants by Canadian authorities, and as many as 125,000 Americans came to Canada due to their opposition to the War. At least half of them are believed to have stayed permanently. This influx of young people helped Canada recover from the "brain drain" of the 1950s, and while in many ways the draft dodgers assimilated into Canadian society, they are considered to have had significant and lasting effects on the country.
Meanwhile, several thousand Canadians joined the U.S. military and served in Vietnam. Many of them became naturalized American citizens after the war, while those who returned home have never received official recognition as veterans. Canada did deploy some peacekeeping troops to monitor ceasefire agreements during the conflict, and also sold a great deal of war materiel to the United States. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, many Vietnamese refugees came to Canada, establishing large communities in Vancouver and Toronto.
[edit] The 1980 Quebec referendum
In 1980, the Parti Québécois launched a referendum on the question of sovereignty. The question actually asked whether Quebec should negotiate for sovereignty, not whether Quebec should simply declare independence, but it was vaguely worded and confused many voters. Trudeau, although it was not a federal referendum, supported the "no" side, promising constitutional reform. The "no" side won by a margin of 60% to 40% when the question was put to the voters on May 20.
[edit] Marathon of Hope
Three years after losing his right leg to cancer at age 18, Terry Fox decided to run from coast to coast in order to raise money for cancer research. In creating the Marathon of Hope, his goal was to raise $1.00 from every Canadian citizen. The young athlete began by dipping his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean at St. John's, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980. He aimed to dip it again in the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver, British Columbia. His plan was to run an average of 42 km (26.2 miles) a day, the distance of a typical marathon. Unfortunately, Fox could not finish his run. The cancer had spread to his lungs, and he was forced to abandon the course on September 1, 1980 just northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario after 143 days. He had run 5,373 km (3,339 miles, or around 23.3 miles per day) through Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario.
