Pierre Trudeau’s Invocation of the War Measures Act and the Impact on the Quebec Sovereignty Movement

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject Cultural Studies - Canada, grade: A, language: English, abstract: The invocation of the War Measures Act had a lasting impact on the Quebec sovereignty movement as it caused the immediate decline of the movement’s violent wing and prompted the subsequent gain in support towards political and peaceful means of seeking sovereignty for Quebec. This investigation will be focused on the extent to which the Quebec sovereignty movement was affected by the invocation of the War Measures Act. The purpose is to trace the impact of the War Measures Act on the Quebec sovereignty movement in the years following the October Crisis. Key sources that were included were William Tetley’s account of the October Crisis and John Saywell’s documentation on the rise of the Parti Quebecois. The investigation will start by providing a brief account of the events that took place during the October Crisis in leading to Trudeau’s decision to enact the War Measures Act. Next, it will analyze how Trudeau’s swift decision to enact the War Measures Act resulted in flagging support for the violent wing of the Quebec sovereignty movement. Finally, it will investigate the rise of the Parti Quebecois from the October Crisis due to the steps taken by Rene Levesque to promote the beliefs of his separatist political party. It can be concluded that the invocation of the War Measures Act played a direct role in the collapse of the FLQ after the October Crisis and increased popular support for political means of pursuing independence through the Parti Quebecois.