A great man once said, "Love thy neighbor as thyself Regrettably in Canada, that's not the case. For quite some time, hostility has existed between the two largest ethnic denominations inside our country, the France and the British. Both have tried to undermine one another in aspects of religion, dialect, culture and politics. To comprehend the cause of this continuing bitter saga, one must take a journey back in its history. Throughout the course of Canadian history, there were many events wherein the People from france and English Canadians have clashed but three major historical situations tore the relationship into items: Red River Rebellion, Conscription dilemma of World Battle I and the FLQ October Problems of 1970 in Quebec. This article will discuss the importance of these situations and its own impact on the French and English relationships.
The Red River Rebellion, led by Louis Riel, was one of the first major event that created the rift between the French and English Canadians. In 1869, when the Hudson's Bay Company sold the great territory known as Rupert's Land to the Canadian administration, the Metis were concerned. "The Metis descended from the intermarriage of Europeans with indigenous individuals and they hold components of both civilizations. " (Flanagan 1) They feared that the federal government would disregard their ownership of the Red River Settlement deal because they did not have paperwork to prove they managed the land. Louis Riel, a Metis man, needed authority and stood up for the protection under the law of his people. He create a provisional authorities in Manitoba. This action angered the English Canadians and was thought by the Canadian Administration as an take action of rebellion. These feelings of resentment and hostility further increased with the execution of Thomas Scott. On the other hand, in the Roman Catholic province of Quebec, many people said Riel's actions were justified. They experienced sympathetic toward Riel and his administration. As one can easily see, this event led by a man of deep conviction and trust drove a wedge into a crack between the People from france and the British Canadians. Francophones regarded the Red River Rebellion a commendable cause and Louis Riel a hero who stood up to protect the protection under the law of the French-speaking Metis. The Anglophones saw the rebellion as a threat to Canada's sovereignty and Riel a traitor. This issue of thoughts would remain until the next major event.
"Conscription!" was the headline of virtually all the newspapers throughout Canada. During World Battle I, Canada contributed to the war effort by supplying ammunitions, warfare vehicles and especially military. Albeit there was also a predicament affecting conscription in WWII, this was much worse. As the battle dragged on, the amount of casualties was mounting and the amount of volunteers was dwindling. In a reaction to this predicament, the existing Leading Minister, Borden, asked the Parliament to pass a conscription charge, indicating all able-bodied men would be drafted into armed forces service. Even just the reference to conscription helped bring a storm of protest in Canada, especially from the People from france Canadians. Once the Military Service Costs was handed down in 1917, the thread that bridged the Anglo-Francophone relations just got thinner. "Although conscription provided few troops for the war effort, it break up the country. It had been overwhelmingly unpopular in Quebec, where there is a massive amount of resistance to military services service. " (Reed, Hiebert 1) One reason French Canadians did not advocate conscription was they noticed discontinued by France when their colony was conquered by English Forces way back in 1760. Another reason why Francophones, did not support conscription was because recruiters for the military services were Protestants and spoke mainly English. This Conscription Crisis was an extra reason for the resentment that already is available between your two feuding populace.
Decades have handed down and it seemed that the partnership had expect peace, but to much dismay, it was to be further crushed by an awful event. On Oct 1970, an emergency in Quebec surfaced involving the Entrance Liberation of Quebec (FLQ) and the federal government that was to lead to serious repercussions in later years. The FLQ was a terrorist firm whose purpose was to gain Quebec self-reliance from the others of Canada. Their violent works come to its pinnacle when they kidnapped Quebec Labour Prime Minister Pierre Laporte and English diplomat James Cross. "The FLQ's kidnappings were possibly the most dramatic domestic occasions in 20th century Canadian history. " (Watson 1) In a reaction to these events, Leading Minister Trudeau proclaims the Conflict Measures Act, alleviating the civil privileges of all Canadian residents. Quebeckers thought it was an overreaction that federal troops be directed it to their province. Some questioned that it was a conspiracy to take over the Quebec federal government. However, those who jailed were gravely outraged. Hundreds of folks were arrested and detained in holding cells because of their nationalistic values. Anger and bitterness stay in the hearts of these that were wrongfully persecuted and oppressed. Indeed, this most heinous function of terrorism in Canada's record is a crucial constituent in the degradation of the French-English connection.
Canada's history is littered with conflict and battles but none surpassed the enormity and gravity of the French-English dissention. The Red River Rebellionâthe Conscription turmoil of World Battle Iâand the FLQ devastation in Quebec â were key events in Canadian history that "split" the French-English Canadian connection. This issue plagues our country today and many actions were taken to try to improve the situation but to no avail. Yet we should keep striving and keep Former Best Minister Laurier's words at heart: "Two races share today the dirt of Canada â These folks had not been friends. But I hasten to say it â There is absolutely no longer any family here but the individuals family. It concerns not the vocabulary people speak, or the altars at which they kneel. "
