Artefact 7: Letter from Premier Robert Bourassa to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau

Robert Bourassa to Pierre Trudeau, October 16, 1970. In Letters from the Quebec Authorities requesting the Implementation of the War Measures Act (October 15-16, 1970) http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/docs/october/letters.htm

Artefact Label:

Despite the narrative that the federal government was wholly responsible for the implementation and use of the War Measures Act during the FLQ crisis, the provincial government of Quebec was on board with this idea and even requested military aid from the federal government to solve the crisis. Although Quebec separatism was a hot topic issue at the time with a large amount of domestic support, many people opposed the actions taken by the FLQ during the crisis due to their unlawful and radical nature. While the FLQ had some support from other separatist factions in the early days of the crisis (even having members of the Parti Québécois publish a booklet in support of their cause), once the murder of Pierre Laporte came to light what little support the FLQ had quick vanished as they no longer wanted to associate with them. The violence of the FLQ crisis changed the trajectory of later Quebec separatist movements, as many of them took a more democratic approach to avoid the mistakes made by the FLQ.

Sources:

Tetley, William. The October Crisis, 1970 : An Insider’s View. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2007. https://search-ebscohost-com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat03710a&AN=alb.7228079&site=eds-live&scope=site.