– A History Of Conflict Essay, Research Paper
A great man once said, “Love thy neighbor
as thyself?” Unfortunately in Canada, that is not the case. For many years,
hostility has existed between the two largest ethnic denominations in our
country, the French and the English. Both have tried to undermine one another
in aspects of religion, language, culture and politics. To understand the
cause of this continuing bitter saga, one must take a journey back in time.
Throughout the course of Canadian history, there were many occasions wherein
the French and English Canadians have clashed but three major historical
events tore the relationship into pieces: Red River Rebellion, Conscription
dilemma of World War I and the FLQ October Crisis of 1970 in Quebec. This
essay will discuss the importance of these situations and its impact on
the French and English relations.
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 vast territory known as Rupert’s Land to the Canadian government, the
Metis were worried. “The Metis descended from the intermarriage of Europeans
with indigenous peoples and they possess elements of both cultures.” (Flanagan
1) They feared that the government would disregard their ownership of the
Red River Settlement because they did not have papers to prove they owned
the land. Louis Riel, a Metis man, took leadership and stood up for the
rights of his people. He set up a provisional government in Manitoba. This
act angered the English Canadians and was thought by the Canadian Government
as an act of rebellion. These feelings of resentment and hostility further
elevated 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 felt sympathetic toward Riel and his government. As one
can see, this event led by a man of deep conviction and faith drove a wedge
into a crack between the French and the English Canadians. Francophones
regarded the Red River Rebellion a noble cause and Louis Riel a hero who
stood up to protect the rights of the French-speaking Metis. The Anglophones
saw the rebellion as a threat to Canada’s sovereignty and Riel a traitor.
This conflict of emotions would remain until the next major event.
“Conscription!” was the headline of almost
all the newspapers throughout Canada. During World War I, Canada contributed
to the war effort by supplying ammunitions, war vehicles and especially
soldiers. Albeit there was also a predicament involving conscription in
WWII, this was much worse. As the war dragged on, the number of casualties
was mounting and the number of volunteers was dwindling. In reaction to
this predicament, the current Prime Minister, Borden, asked the Parliament
to pass a conscription bill, meaning all able-bodied men would be drafted
into military service. Even just the mention of conscription brought a
storm of protest in Canada, especially from the French Canadians. When
the Military Service Bill was passed in 1917, the thread that bridged the
Anglo-Francophone relations just got thinner. “Although conscription provided
few troops for the war effort, it split the country. It was overwhelmingly
unpopular in Quebec, where there was a massive resistance to military s
(Reed, Hiebert 1) One reason why French Canadians did not advocate conscription
was they felt abandoned by France when their colony was conquered by British
Forces way back in 1760. Another reason why Francophones, did not support
conscription was because recruiters for the military were Protestants and
spoke mainly English. This Conscription Crisis was an added reason for
the resentment that already exists between the two feuding populace.
Decades have passed and it seemed that
the relationship had hope for peace, but to much dismay, it was to be further
crushed by a horrible event. On October 1970, a crisis in Quebec surfaced
involving the Front Liberation of Quebec (FLQ) and the federal government
that was to result in serious repercussions in later years. The FLQ was
a terrorist organization whose purpose was to gain Quebec independence
from the rest of Canada. Their violent acts reached its pinnacle when they
kidnapped Quebec Labour Prime Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat
James Cross. “The FLQ’s kidnappings were perhaps the most dramatic domestic
events in 20th century Canadian history.” (Watson 1) In reaction to these
events, Prime Minister Trudeau proclaims the War Measures Act, relieving
the civil rights of all Canadian citizens. Quebeckers thought it was an
overreaction that federal troops be sent it into their province. Some questioned
that it was a conspiracy to take over the Quebec government. However, those
who jailed were gravely outraged. Hundreds of people were arrested and
detained in holding cells just because of their nationalistic beliefs.
Anger and bitterness remain in the hearts of those that were wrongfully
persecuted and oppressed. Indeed, this most heinous act of terrorism in
Canada’s history is a crucial constituent in the degradation of the French-English
relation.
Canada’s past is littered with conflict
and struggles but none surpassed the enormity and gravity of the French-English
dissention. The Red River Rebellion?the Conscription crisis of World War
I?and the FLQ disaster in Quebec ? were key events in Canadian history
that “split” the French-English Canadian connection. This problem plagues
our country today and many measures were taken to try to improve the situation
but to no avail. Yet we must keep trying and keep Former Prime Minister
Laurier’s words in mind: “Two races share today the soil of Canada ? These
people had not always been friends. But I hasten to say it ? There is no
longer any family here but the human family. It matters not the language
people speak, or the altars at which they kneel.”
Bibliography
Hatt, Ken. et al. Louis Riel and
the Metis. Manitoba: Pemmican Publications.
1979.
Flanagan, Thomas. “Red River Rebellion.”
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CD-ROM,
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Boulton, Major Charles. I Fought
Riel: A Military Memoir. Toronto: James
Lorimer
and Company. 1985.
Fournier, Louis. FLQ: The Anatomy
of an Underground Movement. Toronto:
New Canada.
1984.
Watson, Bradley C.S. “Front de Liberation
du Quebec.” The Microsoft Encarta
Encyclopedia,
CD-ROM, 1998, ed.
Reed, Maureen and Daniel J. Hiebert.
“Canada.” The Microsoft Encarta
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