Communist Radicals and the Québec Independence Movement | October Crisis and the FLQ

A group of radical, marxist extremists terrorized Canada and Pierre Trudeau responded by enacting the War Measures Act during the 1960s. The October Crisis had begun. Was this justified? Were these terrorists or something more? What do these events tell us about Canada?

Credits:
"October 1970: Paul Rose dix ans plus tard"
Source: Radio-Canada, YouTube

"CBC Archives: Just Watch Me, 1970"
Source: CBC, YouTube

Sections:
00:00 - Introduction
02:50 - Part I: Québec Identity and History
15:36 - Part II: "Direct Action"
22:19 - Part II: The October Crisis
29:29 - Justification for the War Measures Act
39:34 - Concluding Remarks

#canada #canadapolitics #canadianhistory

[DavOP]

As an immigrant living in Québec, I really appreciate your content. I immigrated to Canada and therefore a part of me believes in the Canadian project and its unity. However, the more I read and learn about the souveranist movement, the more I can sympathise with the struggle of French speaking people to feel recognize in such project. Can you talk about the referendums, le partie québécois and the loi 101? Merciii

[RobKandell]

Being an American, I’m obviously speaking as an outsider. That said, I have a tremendous fascination with history. History is never as clean as the establishment would have us believe, and revisionism is usually politically motivated.

It’s refreshing to see well researched and well presented content with the intent of increasing understanding of the ideas behind events.

Very well done.

[LouismarieBelanger]

The Manifesto. I've wachted it on TV. To some people F.L.Q. was saying what most poeple were thinking in silence. I hope that one day I'll be able to talk with you in person about that matter. A lot of things happened that were not published.

[Zakalef]

《Nulle nation ne veut obéir à une autre, pour la raison toute simple qu’aucune nation ne saurait en commander une autre.》
Vive la liberté, vive l'indépendance!
Nous vaincrons.

[Bobby-uugp]

This YouTube channel is criminally underrated

[etherity]

This series has been very interesting, thank you. I like how you've managed to edit everything as well. The music was well used.

[HERO-UX]

Great video! If you want to learn more about the armed conflict between Quebec and Canada, I would suggest you look into Capitaine René-Marcel Sauvé. The youtube channel 7 Jours sur Terre has a video about the planned invasion of Québec by P-E Trudeau. The video is called L'invasion Secrète. This story gives more depth about why a more 'militaristic' approach to sovereignty is sometimes needed even though Quebecers are pacifists. There is a saying in latin 'Si vis pacem, para bellum', which translates to "If you want peace, prepare for war". On another topic, you should look into Jacques Parizeau, the economist and PM, that gave Quebec all its financial institutions to acquire sovereignty democratically.

[tendernugget]

I think you really should talk about the conscription crisis (both) and how anti-french laws, like Law 17 in Ontario were pivotal in the perception french-canadians had of themselves in Canada at the time and how this realisation that english canada was "out to eradicate french" was important.

Another very important event, seen by some, although debated, as precursor to the Quiet Revolution was the Asbestos miner strike.

[remicar]

Why did I just notice your videos? Dunno if you’ll make anymore but I loved watching them all. With more Canadians like yourself, we would probably never have heard of a referendum in Quebec.

[jerQCote]

One mistake made here of Vallières's comparison of Québécois and Black Americans was not that he compared Québécois to slaves as in the chattel slavery Black Americans were subjected to all across North America, but rather that all colonized people, including Québécois, indigenous, Black Americans and all other victims of colonization are subject to conditions akin to negritude, which can be roughly described as "being treated as less than human" with the consideration that self governance and self determination of a people is a fundamental human right.

Some notable figures in the French literary negritude movement even commented favorably on his grasp of negritude as a concept.

[FairyCRat]

Very interesting, the FLQ's story personally reminds me a bit of that of the IRA in Ireland, who have also been seen by some as terrorists, but very celebrated by others.

[LouismarieBelanger]

Up to now, the only way to keep Canada united is to respect what elected governments in Québec have been asking for decades and stop bashing instead of sitting down at a table and discuss.

[thecodemachine]

I knew some things about the FLQ, but I didn’t know about the bombings. Great video.

[Darkdragon]

As a Québécois sovereignist, I don't feel I have to answer to what the FLQ has done except that "something led to this". But clearly they didn't take the most recommendable path.

I do condemn their actions but not their cause.

My view of an independent Québec is that "it's better to be good neighbors than bad roommates"... We constantly talk about language regression in Québec and we constantly get insults from the rest of Canada!

We even get ignored when an issue has not spilled over to other provinces like the asylum seekers crisis...

So yes, I will condemn the FLQ's actions but not their cause.

And I honestly hope you will have the guts to quote and answer to my comment in a video!!

Great job on the history btw, that's an amazing job!! I guess we just disagree on your conclusion 😂😉

[LouismarieBelanger]

Un homme avait été arrêté parce qu'il possédait un livre sur "Le Cubisme"( pour la police Cubisme = Cuba. Communistes.) It was that crasy.










2

[francoispitre]

Vallieres book with is infamous title was approved by the Black Panthers, he wrote most of the book while he was in prison in New-York with members of the Black panthers in his cell...Do you feel better now ?

[HarishAchutham]

How do you feel about another Trudeau invoking the same emergency powers against truckers?

[MrDomo]

A few acres of snow. François-Marie Arouet dit Voltaire

[LouismarieBelanger]

J'oubliais de vous écrire que j'ai vécu la crise d'octobre 1970.

[NancyStonebridge]

I lived there and still do it was scary times mailboxe bombs 💣 my grandparents were fr Europe and were scared 😱