Causes Of The October Crisis

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The Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) was a separatist paramilitary group in Quebec that supported Quebec sovereignty movements during 1963 to 1970. This was a political movement that was orchestrated to promote Quebec independence. Between 1963 and 1970, the FLQ were responsible for many violent acts such as the Montreal Stock Exchange bombing and the kidnappings of two government officials, which is known as the October Crisis. The FLQ were highly recognized in their role of the October Crisis in 1970, as their goal was to achieve Quebec independence by the means of terrorism (Front De Libération Du Québec). The October Crisis was a crisis which involved the abduction of British trade commissioner James Cross and the Minister of Labour …show more content…
The FLQ only had 35 members at the time of the October Crisis and refrained from activities in 1971 (The October Crisis A). The Parti Québécois enticed citizens away from the menacing schemes of the FLQ. The events of the October Crisis resulted into a notable loss of support for the group. However, they did increase support for political means of achieving sovereignty, including the Parti Québécois. After the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, which was a set of constitutional amendments to convince Quebec to accept the Canada Act, the Bloc Québécois was created which also promoted Quebec sovereignty (Parkinson, 2007). Their actions did not result in any law change, but their ideologies have been passed on to the people of Quebec. They have influenced others to follow and achieve separatism for Quebec. The path to separatism was pursued when Quebec held a referendum in 1980, but failed as nearly 60% of the population rejected sovereignty (Québec Referendum 1980). In addition, in 1995, Quebec held another referendum to ask voters whether they should become an independent nation. However, this failed as well, as more than 50% of the citizens rejected (Québec Referendum …show more content…
Their actions to accomplish independence for Quebec were not handled in an appropriate manner to attract others to join their group. It swayed people away from getting involved in their heinous crimes. The FLQ should have strived for their goal in a legitimate way such as the Parti Québécois rather than trying to make a statement through acts of brutality. In addition, the FLQ had a history of being recognized as a violent organization. Most of the members separated from acts of vandalism such as graffiti and realized that they cannot get their message through, thus relying on violence. They began throwing Molotov cocktails at armouries of the Canadian Army which was succeeded by other bombings and thefts of banks (The Beginning of a New Era). Therefore, despite the FLQ producing revenue through bank robberies, they ceased their undertakings in