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Forming
Identity: Before WWII
Important Historical
Dates in the forming of Canada as a nation:
In
the battle of Quebec in 1759, British troops defeated the French forces
at Quebec City. The British approached Quebec from St. Lawrence
River, above. Their victory enabled Great Britain to take over
France's empire in Canada at the end of the Seven Years' War
(1756-1763) (World Book 118).
1759-- the battle of Quebec
1867--Canada become a confederation of
former colonies (The British North America Act)
1914 - 1918 More than 600,000 Canadians
served in World War I.
1939 - 1945 More than a million Canadian
served in World War II. 
1947-- the creation of the status of
Canadian citizen
1952-- the change in the royal title
designating the sovereign as King of Canada
1957-- the appointment of Vincent Massey
as the first Canadian governor.
1967-- expo '67 in Montreal
1982-- The Constitution Act ended British
control over amendments to Canada's Constitution.
1988-- Canadian Multiculturalism Act
The
Constitution Act, signed by Queen Elizabeth II on April 17, 1982,
above, gave Canada the sole power to amend its Constitution.
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre E. Trudeau looked on. (World Book 122f)
- Canada--its name
and history before WW II
The evolution of CANADA as
a political entity began with the arrival of French and English
colonists at the beginning of the 17th century, and
the establishment of the HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY in 1670.
The name Canada derives
from the Huron-Iroquois kanata, meaning a village or
settlement.
In 1867
the BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT united the Province of Canada (divided
into Ontario and Quebec) with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to
form "One Dominion under the name of Canada."
1867 -- 1919
"the formative period for the transcontinental nation-state and its
maturing economy. A dependent colonial existence gave way to a
semiautonomous nationhood rooted in dynamic growth at home and then
manifested in impressive wartime achievements. Yet the rapid growth
also brought urban slums, rising labour discontent and social
disharmony, as well as an acceleration of linguistic, ethnic and
religious divisions. And the military glory of WWI came at a heavy
price in blood and national division. . . .
The Interwar Years
Canada's population between the world wars rose from 8 to 11 million;
the urban population increased at a more rapid rate from 4 to 6
million. WWI created expectations for a brave new Canada,
but peace brought disillusionment and social
unrest. Enlistment in the ARMED FORCES and the
expansion of the munitions industry had created a manpower shortage
during the war, which in turn had facilitated collective bargaining by
industrial workers. There had been no dearth of grievances about wages
or working conditions, but the demands of patriotism had usually
restrained the militant. Trade-union membership grew from a
low of 143 000 in 1915 to a high of 379 000 in 1919, and with
the end of the war the demands for social justice were no longer held
in check. Even unorganized workers expected peace to bring them
substantial economic benefits." (from History
of Canada in About Canada)
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Forming
Identity: After WWII
- social system
nationalized
1947 -- Canadian
citizenship became formally recognised in law
By 1959-- several new social welfare
programmes were in place (Unemployment Insurance in 1940; Family
Allowance in 1945);
the 1960's -- a distinctive medicare
system.
- language, emblem and
Constitution
1969--Official
Languages Act
1965-- the new national flag
1982--Trudeau 'repatriating' the Constitution in
1982. The Constitution Act was proclaimed, removing the last
remnant of British government authority over Canadian law. But
the new Act was not without problems.
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Fragmenting
National Identity: Quebec's indepence movement
Quebec
Causes for independence movement: Quebec's
financial woes after the English conquest and cultural
isolation/distinctness. (Theory of triple colonization.)
By the time of the
English conquest of Quebec in 1760, the French-speaking
population of Quebec had risen to 65,000. After the conquest
English and Scottish merchants moved north to make Montreal a
cosmopolitan town and to take over the fur trade
established by the French, expanding it westward until it reached the
Pacific.
Donald
Creighton--Dominion of the North (1944)
In this study he espoused what has become known as the 'Laurentian
thesis,' an economic history of metropolis and hinterland; by the terms
of this study, Montreal was the metropolis (or 'center') of Canada as
long as it controlled the fur trade. But when Toronto established
itself further upstream, it cut the hinterland off from Montreal,
usurping its role and becoming the new national metropolis.
魁北克簡史年表
- 一六○八年：法國人在魁北克建立北美洲第一個永久社區。
- 一七六三年：英國依據巴黎條約接管新法蘭
西。
- 一七七四年：英國為了勸
誘法語區不要加入美國獨立革命，賦與英屬法語區若干民政權及宗教權。
- 一七九一年，加拿大分成上加拿大及下加拿
大(Upper Canada and Lower Canada)，這兩個英屬殖民地擁有無實權的民選會議。
- 一八三七至一八三八年：法
語居民發起一連串起義行動，計劃成立美利堅法蘭西共和國。
- 一八三九年：英國推動大規模英籍移民遷入加拿大，以同化法語居民。
- 一八四○年：境內百分之六十為法語人口，但加拿大聯邦以英語為唯一官方語言。
- 一八六七年：英國政府認可不列顛北美法案
(The British North America Act)
，成立加拿大聯邦，由四省組成，魁省人口佔全境三分之一。
- 一九一
八年：法語居民反對被英軍徵兵，魁北克發生數起流血暴動。
- 一九四八年：魁北克制定省旗。
- 一九六
○年：魁北克省政府進行「無聲革命」(Quiet Revolution)，接管許多教育及社會政策，結束天主教會掌
控局面。
- 一九六七年：法國總統戴高樂在蒙特婁演
說，高呼「魁北克自由萬歲」，成為魁省獨派人士的精神口號。
- 一九六八年：魁北克黨成立，以爭取魁北克
脫離加拿大而獨立為職志。
- 一九七○年：爆發「十月危機」(October Crisis)，「魁北克解放陣
線」策動一連串恐怖事件，出身魁北克的杜魯道(Trudeau)總理派軍鎮壓，數百名同情民族主義人士被捕。
- 一九七
四年：魁北克通過法文為官方語言。
- 一九七六年：魁北克黨在選舉中大勝，首度
執政，由勒維克出任魁省省長。
- 一九八○年：勒維克提出「主權聯繫」計
畫，主張魁北克為獨立國家，但仍與加拿大維持密切關係，魁北克針對此計畫舉行公投(referendum)，反對者以
百分之五十九得票率獲勝。
- 一九八二年：加拿大修訂新憲法，通過權利憲章，獲得魁省
外所有省份同意。
- 一九九○年：承認魁北克為「明顯不同的社
會」(Distinct Society)的米奇湖協定(Meech Lake
Accord)失敗，二英語省份未批准這項協定。
- 一九八八年︰178
Act強制境內商業招牌一律使用法文。
- 一九九二年：加拿大舉行全國公投，絕大多
數人反對修憲，英語系選民的理由是讓步太多，法語系選民的理由是該憲政改革仍嫌太少。
- 一九九四年：魁北克黨由黨魁巴希佐
(Premier Parizeau)領導，在睽違九年後，重新入主魁省執政。
（中國時報國
際新聞中心李根芳譯; 1995/10/31︰ 10)
Premier Parizeau
released the referendum question on September 7 1993. It asks:
Do you
agree that Quebec should beome sovereign, after having made a formal
offer to Canada for a neweconomic and political partnership, within the
scope of the Bill respecting the future of Quebec and the agreement
signed on June 12, 1995.
Referendum results in
1993;
1995
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Immigration & Multiculturalism Act
Increasing Immigration
Two
world wars and the Depression of the 1930s slowed down the pace of
immigration, which did not begin to pick up until 1946. The postwar
new-comers were at first mainly British, with Dutch and German quickly
gathering numbers;
in the 1960s --
Mediterranean peoples, notably Italians, Greeks and Portuguese,
in the 1970s --
a steadily growing number of Asians--from India and China via Hong Kong
especially and of people of ultimately African origin via the Caribbea.
New immigration legislation in
the 1970s opened the borders to larger numbers of Asian
immigrants...the 1981 census was the first
to allow respondents to declare their maternal as well as their
paternal heritage, which provides a limited opportunity to reveal more
than one ethnic background.
Multiculturalism Act
(1988)
On 12 July 1988, the House of
Commons passed Bill C-93, 'An Act for the perservation adn enhancement
of multiculturalism in Canada.' (See the complete text of this Act in
Hutcheon 368-73)
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Forming
Identity: 
