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== The October Crisis ==  

== The October Crisis ==  

 

On October 5, 1970, members of the FLQ kidnapped the British Trade Commissioner in Canada, James Cross.  Soon after they kidnapped Pierre Laporte, the Vice-Premier of Quebec.  Laporte was murdered a week later.  With Cross still under their control, the FLQ sought to leverage public opinion in their favor and organized massive student strikes throughout the province.  They put out a list of demands including the release of various imprisoned Quebécois nationalist figures and a hefty ransom.

On October 5, 1970, members of the FLQ kidnapped the British Trade Commissioner in Canada, James Cross.  Soon after they kidnapped Pierre Laporte, the Vice-Premier of Quebec.  Laporte was murdered a week later.  With Cross still under their control, the FLQ sought to leverage public opinion in their favor and organized massive student strikes throughout the province.  They put out a list of demands including the release of various imprisoned Quebcéois nationalist figures and a hefty ransom.

===Response===

===Response===

The highest levels of the Canadian government quickly became involved. On 16 October 1970 the cabinet of Prime Minister [[Pierre Trudeau]] passed the War Measures Act and Regulations (WMA) which immediately sent the Canadian army into Montreal. The army summarily dragged 497 people out of their beds and into jail. Of these, 435 were released within two days, while 62 were charged and 32 held without bail. There was near-unanimous public support for these drastic measures at the time. The government managed to secure the release of the Cross in exchange for safe passages of several of the terrorists to Cuba.

The highest levels of the Canadian government quickly became involved. On October 16, 1970 the cabinet of Prime Minister [[Pierre Trudeau]] passed the War Measures Act and Regulations (WMA) which immediately sent the Canadian army into Montreal. The army summarily dragged 497 people out of their beds and into jail. Of these, 435 were released within two days, while 62 were charged and 32 held without bail. There was near-unanimous public support for these drastic measures at the time. The government managed to secure the release of the Cross in exchange for safe passages of several of the terrorists to Cuba.

==Collapse==

==Collapse==

 

The FLQ self-destructed in the wake of the October Crisis.  There was significant public backlash against the violent means used by the group, which had by then been infiltrated to the highest levels by police informants.  The peaceful, though still left-wing, Parti Quebécois rose as the dominant voice of the pro-independence movement in Quebec.  Some FLQ members who had fled Canada eventually returned and received generally light prison sentences.  In later years small-scale vandalism has been associated with the FLQ name (for example, spray painting "FLQ" on Anglophone buildings, and vandalizing a statue in Montreal), but the group is now essentially defunct.

The FLQ self destructed in the wake of the October Crisis.  There was significant public backlash against the violent means used by the group, which had by then been infiltrated to the highest levels by police informants.  The peaceful Parti Quebécois rose as the dominant voice of the pro-independence movement in Quebec.  Some FLQ members who had fled Canada eventually returned and received generally light prison sentences.  In later years small-scale vandalism has been associated with the FLQ name (for example, spray painting "FLQ" on Anglophone buildings, and vandalizing a statue in Montreal), but the group is now essentially defunct.

==Further reading==

==Further reading==

{{terrorism}}

{{terrorism}}

[[category:Canadian History]]

[[Category:Canadian History]]

[[category:Quebec]]

[[Category:Quebec]]

[[Category:Terrorist Organizations]]

[[Category:Terrorist Organizations]]