October Crisis

October Crisis
Part of the Quebec sovereignty movement and the Cold War
Troop movements during the surrender of the Chenier Cell
Date October 5 – December 28, 1970 Location Greater Montreal area, Quebec[a] Result Canadian government victory Capture and arrest of Paul Rose, Jacques Rose and Francis Simard Loss of public support for the FLQ[1]
Belligerents
Canada  Quebec	Front de libération du Québec
Commanders and leaders
Pierre Trudeau Robert Bourassa Donald Stovel Macdonald Gilles Turcot Pierre Laporte  X Jean Drapeau	Paul Rose (POW) Jacques Rose (POW) Francis Simard (POW) Jacques Lanctôt Jacques Cossette-Trudel Bernard Lortie
Units involved
Royal 22e Régiment Sûreté du Québec	Chénier Cell Liberation Cell
Casualties and losses
1 soldier killed in an accident 1 politician murdered	~30 arrested
Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte kidnapped and murdered by the FLQ; British diplomat James Cross kidnapped and later released by the FLQ

The October Crisis (French: Crise d'Octobre) was a chain of political events in Canada that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross from his Montreal residence. These events saw the Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoking the War Measures Act for the first time in Canadian history during peacetime.

The Premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa, and the Mayor of Montreal, Jean Drapeau, supported Trudeau's invocation of the War Measures Act, which limited civil liberties and granted the police far-reaching powers, allowing them to arrest and detain 497 people. The Government of Quebec also requested military aid to support the civil authorities, with Canadian Forces being deployed throughout Quebec.

Although negotiations led to Cross's release, Laporte was murdered by the kidnappers. The crisis affected the province of Quebec, especially the metropolitan area of Montreal, and ended on December 28.

At the time opinion polls in Quebec and throughout Canada showed widespread support for the usage of the War Measures Act. The response was criticized by prominent politicians such as René Lévesque and Tommy Douglas.

After the crisis, movements that pushed for electoral votes as a means to attain autonomy and independence grew stronger. At the time, support also grew for the sovereignist political party known as Parti Québécois, which formed the provincial government in 1976.

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