Was Prime Minister Trudeau justified in invoking the War Measures act
during the October Crisis
Essay
Pierre Elliott Trudeau is one of the most renowned leaders that Canada has ever
had. In the sixties and seventies Canada was on the verge of a major revolt for the first
time in its history. There were numerous terrorist groups such as the Front de Lib ration
Qu b cois, and the most well know and the most hostile, the Front de Lib ration du
Qu bec. Qu bec s state of wanting of their own commonwealth was also a major issue
in the time period. Also Canada s distinction as a safe and secure country was on the
line. With these reasons Pierre Trudeau was justified in invoking the War Measures Act
during the October Crisis in 1970.
One reason that Pierre Trudeau had warrant administering the War Measure s Act
is because of Qu bec s state. Ever since Qu bec surrendered to the British in the Seven
Years War on the Plains of Abraham, on September 18, 1759 there has been animosity
between the French and English. Also, Qu bec has always had strong beliefs about
keeping its heritage, culture, and religion. As well, when Charles De Gaulle came to
The Essay on World War Canada People Canadian
World War Two Canada had just finished World War one and were still recovering from the evil and horrifying memories of the First World War. Canada had came to a decision that it would be for the best of the Canadian interest to join World War two and put an end to Germany. Britain had declared war in early September and exactly one week later Canada declared war on Germany. Not only was Germany ...
Canada for Expo 67, his speech added wood to the already very hot fire by saying Vive
le Qu bec libre! or in other words long live free Qu bec. The formation of the Separatist
Party, Parti Qu b cois, led by Ren L vesque really built up Qu bec which was already
in a very volatile state. Therefore, it is believed these acts gave Pierre Trudeau the right
to invoke the War Measures Act to keep Qu bec from going into chaos.
Canada is a country with a great reputation. Canada s reputation as a safe and
secure country to live in was on the line not only to the Canadian people but also to the
international community. Therefore, Mr. Trudeau definitely had the right to enact the
War Measures Act to give the government sweeping power. It had a chance to prove to
the world again that it could handle its own problems and did not need the help of
Britain or any other country. Canada s government could even have been overthrown but
fortunately wasn t . All these things would definitely have changed Canada s reputation
as a safe place and secure to live in, its reputation as a country that has freedom of
choice. Since all these things definitely would have wrecked Canada reputation, Pierre
Trudeau had the right to put the War Measures Act in place.
Terrorism is another reason Pierre Trudeau had just reason when he enacted the
War Measure Act. All the terrorism started when teenagers that had separatist views
displayed their views by throwing Molotov cocktails at federal buildings and setting off
bombs in Qu bec City and Montreal. This group called themselves Front de Liberation
Qu b cois. Luckily this group was broken up by the police. Even though the group was
broken up, the seeds had been planted for the group that posed the biggest threat to the
Canadian people in history. This group was called the Front de Lib ration du Qu bec.
The Front de Lib ration du Qu bec did very small but violent terrorist acts like mailbox
bombs, but they also did some big act of terrorism as well. On October 5, 1970, the FLQ
The Essay on Act A Measure Government Federalist Six
Intro This document is an extract from "Publius", The Federalist n^069, entitled The Real Character of the Executive and written by Alexander Hamilton on March 14 th 1788, one of the 85 articles of The Federalist Papers written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison and published in New York newspapers. This particular one was published in the "New-York Packet." I will go into this ...
broke into the home of the British Trade Commissioner James Cross and kidnapped him
and held him for ransom. The Front de Lib ration du Qu bec had very high demands for
ransom. Some of their demands were: 500 000 in gold bullion, and a plane to either Cuba
or Algeria. The RCMP compromised and got James Cross released by giving them a
plane to Cuba. Canada could not allow these types of actions to continue. The Front de
Lib ration the Qu bec was getting to be too much of a threat. This event and other events
like this by the FLQ, big or small, were definitely an apprehended insurrection if not a
real insurrection. Therefore for those reasons Pierre Trudeau definitely had reason to
invoke the War Measures Act on October 16, 1970.
Pierre Trudeau was justified for invoking the War Measures Act during the
October Crisis because of Qu bec s state, Canada s reputation as a safe and secure
country, and because of the terrorist groups like the Front de Lib ration de Qu bec.
Furthermore Pierre Trudeau says it best in describing why it was important to invoke the
War Measures Act:
In my own mind the importance of a democratic movement not fearing to
take extraordinary measures to preserve democracy, this importance has
always been established both intellectually and emotionally. So I didn t have
to sort of weigh Creon and Antigore in Sophocles famous play about what is
more important, the State or the individual. Democracy must preserve itself
(Anthony Westell 261)
Finally, the War Measures Act worked perfectly. The day before the War
Measures Act, Qu bec was in chaos. The day after the Act was invoked it was calm. The
War Measures Act did what it was supposed to do. It restored Canada to the country that
is know as safe and secure.
