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Web Links
CHAPTER 9: POLITICS IN CANADA
INTERNET FOCUS QUESTIONS:
Communities: Local, National,
and Global
- What major events contributed to the growth of Quebec nationalism
and the separatist movement in Quebec from 1945 to 1967?
- How and why did the relationship between English Canada and Quebec
change during this time?
Citizenship and Heritage
- How did the movements that resulted in the founding of political parties
affect Canadian politics after World War II?
Social, Economic, and Political
Structures
- How did the role of Canadian federal and provincial governments change
after World War II?
- How successful have federal government policies been in addressing
the problem of economic disparity among the regions of Canada?
ACTIVITIES
CHANGING ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
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Work with a partner to create a time
line that shows changes in federal and provincial governments from
1945 to 1967. Use provincial Internet sites to collect your data.
Then, look for patterns and trends in your time line. Draw inferences
about political party changes that resulted from the conflicting
agendas. |
| Between 1945 and 1967 there were many changes to
the federal and provincial political landscape of Canada. This activity
asks you to create a chronological time line of those changes and
then to draw inferences from the patterns and trends that you see.
Use the following process to work through the stages of this activity.
- Decide on a format for your draft time line and use that format
to guide you as you collect information on changes in federal
and provincial governments during this time. See the time lines
at the start of each chapter in Canada: Our Century, Our Story
for an example of one type of format. Refer to the list of
the Prime Ministers of Canada (page ix) to see when the four prime
ministers of this period were in power.
- Use the weblinks recommended for this activity to gather further
information about changes in provincial governments across Canada.
- Once you have placed all of the leaders of federal and provincial
ruling parties on your time line, research the problems and the
events that led to each change. Carefully review Chapter 9, paying
particular attention to the following sections: The Liberals Control
Canadian Politics (starting on page 238), The Emergence of the
Welfare State (starting on page 240), The Diefenbaker Years (pages
243-245), and The Liberals Return (pages 245-249). Reread both
Images: The Legacy of Mackenzie King (page 239) and Foundations:
Beginnings of Medicare (page 241). Add very concise notes to your
time line as you do your research.
- Plan, design, draft, revise, and prepare a good copy of your
time line, adding concise notes on the information that you think
is pertinent for the purpose and focus of this activity.
- Discuss any patterns or trends that you see in your time line;
talk first with your partner and then with another pair of students.
Questions such as the following will help you in this exercise:
- What conclusions can be reached about the causes and effects
of these changes in the federal and provincial governments?
- How did changes in provincial rule reflect the sometimes
conflicting agendas of the federal and provincial governments?
- How might a change in one government (either provincial
or federal) have caused a change in another government (either
provincial or federal)?
- How do these changes relate to issues of regional disparity
and to conflicts resulting from the division of powers between
provincial and federal governments in Canada?
- After you have completed your discussion, write (independently)
a paragraph in which you draw inferences about the causes and
likely effects of one of these changes in the ruling parties of
provincial and federal political parties during this time.
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Use the following websites to help you research your topic and prepare
your time line and paragraph:
- To find data on current and past Canadian provincial elections, go
to the CANOE
Politics page and select a province from the "Province Watch" listing.
Then, on the Provincial page, find "The Premier & Cabinet" heading,
click on the "Premiers of the past" link for a chronological listing
of all the premiers of that province.
- To review the origin of some of the conflicts between the federal
and provincial governments, see The
Constitution Act, 1867 (The British North America Act). Pay particular
attention to "Section VI. Distribution of Legislative Powers, Articles
91 to 95."
- To establish the patterns and trends, you may need further information
on specific provincial political parties. Search the Internet for this
additional information. As you view the provincial party websites and
their account of their party history, remember that different political
parties definitely have different perspectives on historical events.
THE QUIET REVOLUTION
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Using Internet sources, investigate
how the rest of Canada dealt with issues in Quebec during the time
of the Quiet Revolution. Draft and develop a thesis statement that
presents your viewpoint on this historical question, and write an
essay based on your thesis. |
During Expo 67, President Charles de Gaulle of France
spoke for many Quebecers when he said to an enthusiastic crowd, "Vive
Montréal, vive le Québec, vive le Québec libre, vive le Canada-Français,
et vive la France." Many Canadians in the rest of the country were surprised
and shocked at the roars of approval from the crowd of Quebecers. Canadians
outside Quebec did not know much about the Quiet Revolution, which had
been going on in the province of Quebec during the preceding years.
During the 1960s, Quebecers experienced many changes—in politics,
in education, in social programs, and in culture. They had also become
very aware of the domination of their economy by English-Canadian and
American business interests. "Masters in our own house" was not only a
rallying cry to Quebecers, but also a warning to the rest of Canada that
Quebec was demanding change.
Begin research for your essay on the Quiet Revolution by rereading and
taking notes on the following sections in Canada: Our Century, Our
Story: The Liberals Return (pages 245-249), Canada on Stage (starting
on page 250), and Flashpoint: Charles de Gaulle's Visit to Quebec (page
253). To help you plan and focus your essay, review Historian at Work:
Developing a Thesis (page 251), and read the Chapter 10 Historian at Work:
Building an Effective Argument (page 275).
Use the following questions to assist you in your research and preparation
of the thesis and argument for your essay:
- What was the Quiet Revolution?
- What were some of the decisions made by the government and the people
of Quebec during the 1950s and 1960s that led to the Quiet Revolution?
- What was the significance of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec and in
the rest of Canada? What did the people of Quebec think about the revolution?
What did the people in the rest of Canada think about it?
- What was the purpose of the federal Official Languages Act of 1969?
What effect did the passage of this Act have in Quebec and in the rest
of Canada?
- How and why is the perspective on the preservation of the French language
and the protection of French culture different in Quebec than in the
rest of Canada?
- What difference might it have made to the issue of Quebec separation
if the rest of Canada had reacted differently to the Quiet Revolution?
Visit the following websites to investigate the Quiet Revolution:
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