Use the template on the last slide to create additional cards about other prominent individuals who have lived or are currently living on the territory you are studying. When you are done, share findings with your teacher and/or classmates.

Note: These cards can also be used alongside of the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada by Canadian Geographic. Check out the LEARN educators website to learn more about the atlas and book if for your school.

SECULARIZATION
One of the priorities of Jean Lesage’s government was to secularize the Quebec state, that is, to officially separate the power of the Church from that of the provincial government. Until then, the Catholic Church was very close to the government and controlled health and education systems in the province. With the creation of the Hospital Insurance Plan (in 1961) and the Department of Education (in 1964), the government removed the Churches control over two of the most important institutions in Quebec society. From then on, the Quebec government was seen as a government that represented people of all religions and there were no longer religious connotations tied to the services offered to Quebec citizens.

ECONOMIC POWER
In 1960, the majority of Quebecers were low-skilled workers and relatively poor. The incomes of French people were are among the lowest in Canada. In the 1960s, the majority of large companies were controlled by English Canadians.

To improve living conditions in Quebec, the provincial government decided to give more economic power to French speakers. Firstly, it decided to improve access to education in the province. This allowed Quebecers to improve their economic situation by hold better jobs.
The government also created institutions such as the Caisse de dépôt et de placements (1965) and the Société générale de financement, whose missions were to develop the Quebec economy.

In 1962, the Quebec government nationalized electricity production by combining all of Quebec’s private electricity companies into Hydro-Québec. Hydro-Québec quickly became the largest company in Quebec.

NATIONALISM
During the Quiet Revolution, several projects were launched to support a new type of Quebec nationalism that was associated with liberal values. This new nationalism contrasted with the very traditional nationalism of Duplessis. Many of the actions taken by the government during the Quiet Revolution were aimed at empowering Quebecers and promoting Quebec’s interests within Canada. Eventually, this nationalism gave rise to the Quebec sovereignty movement, which believed that Quebec should separate from Canada to form an independent country.

Author :
Alexandre Lanoix. RECITUS. Translated by LEARN.

Quickly check your knowledge:

World War 1
World War 1 began in 1914 between Germany, Russia, Great Britain and France. It ended with the surrender of Germany in 1918. Most of the European colonies quickly found themselves involved in the conflict because of the political alliances between countries. Since Canada was part of the British Empire, it was automatically involved in the war alongside Great Britain. In total, 60,000 Canadians died in the First World War.
Participation in the war was a source of conflict between French and English speakers in Canada. The majority of English Canadians wanted Canada to participate in the war, while many French Canadians did not see the point of getting involved in a war that did not concern them. This difference of opinion led to a drafting crisis in 1917.

WORLD WAR II
World War II began in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. The Allies declared war on Germany. Soon, the whole world was involved in the conflict. The war resulted in the deaths of 45,000 Canadians. It greatly impacted Canada’s economy. Women were called to work in factories to replace men who had left for the war front, permanently changing the division of labor in Canada. Similar to World War 1, the second world war was also a source of conflict between French and English speakers in Canada. A new medium, radio, allowed Quebecers to follow the events of the war in Europe and opened up Quebec to the outside world. The war ended in 1945 with the surrender of Germany and the allies (France, Great Britain, Canada and the United States).

Author :
Alexandre Lanoix. RECITUS. Translated by LEARN.

But what was Canada before, if it wasn’t a country? There were people who lived in the territory, weren’t there?

Let’s do a little recap.
You have already learned:
– That the first inhabitants of the land were Indigenous Peoples, First Nations, and Inuit.
– That the French came to North America in the 16th century and founded the colony New France.
– That in 1763 there was a war between France and England. When this war (also known as the Conquest of New France) ended, France surrendered its colonies to England.
– Finally, that the Thirteen American colonies separated from Great Britain to form the United States of America in 1776.

Phew! But where is Canada in all this?

Well all the territory in North America that still belonged to Great Britain after the American Revolution, was called British North America. This territory was composed of different colonies, including the province of Canada (which got its name after Upper and Lower Canada joined in 1840).

These small colonies faced many problems. In order to solve them, they decided to join together to form one country, Canada. The colonies thought that they would be able to protect themselves better if they were united. They also thought that the economy would be better and that political problems would be less difficult.

On July 1, 1867, the British North America Act came into effect. This was the birth of Canada. But the Canada of 1867 was different from today: it was made up of only four provinces: Quebec and Ontario (which were known then as the Province of Canada) as well as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In the next few years, three more provinces and a territory joined the North America Act: Manitoba (1870), British Columbia (1871), Prince Edward Island (1873), and the Northwest Territories (1869).

Canada found a compromise to unite the provinces while allowing them to retain some autonomy. The compromise was federalism. Federalism is a system with two levels of government: a federal government to deal with issues that affect all provinces and provincial governments to deal with local issues that only concern one province. Canada still operates this way today. The federal government sits in Ottawa and Quebec’s provincial government sits in Quebec City.

Author:
National Service of the Social Universe. RECITUS. Translated by LEARN.

Since 1791, the people of Canada have been able to elect members to the Legislative Assembly. However, this assembly had no real power and its decisions could be easily overturned by British government appointees. The majority of the people of Lower Canada voted for the Patriot Party, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau. In 1834, the Patriot Party petitioned the British government to give elected members of the Canadian Parliament real powers. After repeated refusals from the British government, the Patriot Party took up arms in 1837 and 1838 and entered into an open rebellion against the government to obtain more rights for the inhabitants of Lower Canada. The Patriotes were defeated by the British army.

THE RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT

After the rebellions, Lord Durham was appointed Governor of Canada and decided that more power should be given to the members of Parliament in order to avoid further confrontations. In 1840, Upper and Lower Canada were amalgamated. In 1848, responsible government was granted to Canada, meaning that the representatives elected by Canadians finally had the power to make all of the decisions related to the new colony.

A FIRST STEP TOWARDS DEMOCRACY

Even though it was defeated, the Patriot Party asserted the rights of Canadians and forced the authorities to implement responsible government. From that point on, elected officials were chosen by the people and could make important decisions to improve the lives of all Canadians.

Author:
Alexandre Lanoix. RECITUS. Translated by LEARN.

After the American War of Independence, many Loyalists settled north of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie (in an area that is located in what is now known as the province of Ontario). They profoundly transformed the face of Canada. The Loyalists had a different language (English), a different way of life (townships), and different political beliefs (they wanted a House of Assembly). It was for these reasons that Britain passed the Constitutional Act in 1791.

TERRITORY AND LANGUAGE

The Constitutional Act divided the province of Quebec into two parts: Upper Canada (southern Ontario), where the majority of the population were English, and Lower Canada (southern Quebec), where the majority of the population were French. In Lower Canada, some English speakers settled in Quebec City, Montreal, and the Eastern Townships.

THE RIGHT TO VOTE

Thanks to the Constitutional Act, the population of Lower Canada now had the right to vote. They voted for their members of parliament. The members of parliament then received the right to run the colony. This was the beginning of democracy in Canada. However, the elected members of parliament quickly understood that the colony was still ruled by England. They had limited power to make decisions for the colony.

Author : Léon Robichaud. RECITUS. Translated by LEARN.

WHY DID THE THIRTEEN COLONIES GO TO WAR AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN?
The main reason: Great Britain wanted to make the British pay for the conquest of America by imposing taxes. The Thirteen Colonies did not want to pay these taxes. In Boston, instead of paying taxes on tea, the colonists decided to throw a ship’s cargo overboard. The event is known as the Boston Tea Party of 1773.

THE CONSEQUENCES
The American Revolution completely transformed North America. The new country, the United States of America, occupied the entire area between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River south of the Great Lakes. A large number of settlers wanted to leave the United States and remain loyal to Great Britain so they moved to what is now known as Canada. These people were called “Loyalists” because they were loyal to Great Britain. The relocation of Loyalists eventually led to many changes in Quebec.

Authpr: Léon Robichaud. RECITUS. Translated by LEARN.

Between 1713 and 1744, the French and English colonies in America lived in peace, but war was not far off… The English colonies wanted to expand west of the Appalachians, in the Ohio Valley, on French territory. In 1756, the Seven Years War officially began.

THE FORCES AT WORK

England chose to focus its efforts on taking conquering New France. About 20,000 English soldiers went into battle against 7,000 French soldiers. So the English had a big advantage in terms of the number of soldiers at their disposal. Moreover, the English navy completely dominated the seas and prevented France from sending additional troops to help.

THE CONQUEST OF NEW FRANCE

The soldiers of New France won a few battles despite receiving no help from France. After taking the fortress of Louisbourg in 1758, the English bombarded the city of Quebec throughout the summer of 1759. They won the battle of the Plains of Abraham and captured Quebec city. In the spring of 1760, the French and the English waited to see which flag would fly on the first ships that would sail up the river. It was the English who won this race. Montreal was captured in September 1760. Governor Vaudreuil burned the French flag to confirm the defeat. The English had conquered New France.

In 1763, the English and French signed a treaty confirming that New France was now an English colony. The 55,000 French inhabitants were now ruled by the English.

[See image gallery at societies.learnquebec.ca] Author: Léon Robichaud. RECITUS. Translated by LEARN.

In 1667, the year of my birth, a truce began in what some called the Iroquois wars. The Iroquoian groups to the south, known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, had been expanding their territory to gain access to larger hunting grounds. The French soldiers had attacked them that year, and both sides had stopped fighting and sought peace. So, my father, who was a farmer, was finally able to work in the fields without fear of being attacked. I was born then and grew up on that farm. But unfortunately, the war resumed when I was 13 or 14 years old, and my brother was actually killed as the conflicts continued.

But today the future seems full of hope. I have seen more than 1300 Indigenous people from about 39 different Nations arrive here since the beginning of summer, some of whom have travelled for several weeks by canoe. Some come from nations that are allied with the French, but there are Iroquoian nations from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy here, too.  I heard that Tionontati (Huron-Petun) chief Kondiaronk, an ancient warrior, played a large role in facilitating negotiations for lasting peace. It seems like a lot of people from different Indigenous Nations and the French are interested in finding agreements to stop this never-ending war!

And that is exactly what happened: On August 4, 1701,  representatives of39 Indigenous Nations, along with Louis-Hector de Callières, the representative of France, signed the Great Peace Treaty. Peace like we have never known before now. And without war or threat of attack, now the colony will truly be able to grow and prosper.

The Great Peace of Montreal ended up accelerating the expansion of New France’s claimed territory over the next 50 years.

[See image gallery at societies.learnquebec.ca] Alternative images available on the RECITUS page here ,  on the Pointe-À-Callièr Museum site and also at the Canadian Encyclopedia

Author: Service national du RÉCIT de l’univers social adapted by LEARN

Linked pages:

• The Iroquois Wars

See also – Traces of the past:

• The account of Father Brébeuf

Video series by Pointe-à-Callière

In 1663, Louis XIV, the king of France, decided to take charge of New France and created a new government for the region.

A NEW GOVERNMENT

In 1663, New France had a new government. The colony was run by two men:

• a governor who was in charge of the army;
• a steward who was in charge of justice and the economy.

Jean Talon was the first steward of New France. Many settlers came to New France because of his initiatives.

TO BE MORE NUMEROUS – TO DEFEND THE TERRITORY

The English were the enemies of the French in Europe and in America. King Louis XIV wanted to protect New France. He did this by bringing more settlers to occupy and cultivate the land. He also brought more soldiers to defend the territory.

When Louis XIV took control over New France, it changed. It was no longer a trading post, but a colony.

[See image gallery at societies.learnquebec.ca] Author: National Service of the Social Universe RECIT. Translated by LEARN

THE DISCOVERY OF CANADA
In 1535, Jacques Cartier returned to the site of his first expedition and decided to explore the new territory in more detail. This time, he discovered the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. He also entered what we now call Canada. He met Indigenous People in the village of Stadacona and then continued on his way, up the river, which he called the “Canada Trail”. He went as far as Hochelaga (an Iroquoian village that was located on or near present-day Mount Royal in Montreal). He also discovered many rivers such as the Saguenay, Saint-Maurice and Richelieu.

CANADA, A PASSAGE TO ASIA?
Cartier thought that the St. Lawrence River would lead him to Asia. During his explorations, he understood that Canada was a very vast territory and that France could benefit from its many resources.

[See image gallery at societies.learnquebec.ca] Author: Alexandre Lanoix.  RECITUS. Translated by LEARN