Lesson 2b: The October Crisis (1970)

The October Crisis: The 12 Days

• 5 Oct, 1970: The FLQ kidnaps British Trade Commissioner, James Cross
• 15 Oct: FLQ kidnaps Quebec Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte.
• The FLQ demanded the release of imprisoned members ("political prisoners") & the broadcasting of their manifesto (was read on Radio-Canada).
• Premier Robert Bourassa asks Trudeau for help.

October Crisis: Canada Strikes

• 12 Oct, 1970: Armed Forces deployed to guard federal buildings & FLQ targets in Ottawa & Montreal
• 13 Oct: Trudeau is asked by a reporter, "How far are you going to go?" to which Trudeau replied "Well, just watch me!"
• 16 Oct: Trudeau invokes the War Measures Act, suspending civil liberties & individual rights.

A Means to An End: October Crisis

• The War Measures Act allowed Police to jail people w/o charges & search homes w/o a warrant;
  • 465 Canadians were arrested as a result.
• 17 Oct, 1970: Pierre Laporte's body is found dead in a car's trunk.
• Dec, 1970: Police find James Cross and his captors were given safe passage to Cuba.

The Result

• Pierre Laporte's kidnappers were found, tried & convicted of kidnapping & murder.
• The War Measures Act has never before been used in peacetime, and the need for it is still debated today.
• Eventually, the War Measures Act became the Emergencies Act.
• The crisis tarnished all seperatist movements in Quebec, but they were still looking for change...

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