High Tensions

 In 1980, the country saw a referendum in Quebec, triggered by the separatist government under Rene Levesque. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau led the side against the question of separation. This editorial cartoon pretty much personifies their relationship.

Here we have Trudeau and Levesque giving speeches in the run up to the referendum, with pauses in the video as the other person takes over. The effect is as though they're debating in the same room. In the end, the referendum was defeated.

A Conservative government under Brian Mulroney attempted to amend the Constitution with the provincial and territorial premiers, through the Meech Lake Accord to alleviate the concerns that had led to the referendum in the first place. In the end, the Accord failed.

1995 saw another referendum on the issue of Quebec separation. It was narrowly defeated- the closest the country ever came to coming apart.

Francophone communities are found throughout the country, and the nation is officially bilingual.

The next section focuses on human rights, and the country has evolved over time to embrace them, from voting rights to citizenship to discrimination

This is the work of an artist, Laila Binbrek, called Mirror Mirror. It has two sides of a dressing table, with her dual identities represented- western on the one side and middle eastern on the other.

Quiet Revolution

The next thematic area looks at Quebec, and Francophones in the country as a whole. 

This is the jersey and hockey stick of Maurice "Rocket" Richard, one of the greatest players in NHL history, and a legend in the Montreal Canadiens. He was tough, skilled, and a hero to millions in the 1940s and 50s.

The Quiet Revolution was a period starting in 1960 in which Quebec fundamentally changed in its own nature and how it dealt with the country as a whole. 

This included big projects, like the hydro projects that have made Hydro Quebec what it is today.

French-Canadian music took on a life of its own as well.

In 1967, a colossal prick came for a state visit and set off a political firestorm. Charles de Gaulle, the president of France, legend in his own mind, and egomaniac who weaseled his way into power after World War Two came on a state tour. De Gaulle was the biggest egomaniac in history up to that time, though he has since been surpassed by a certain Orange Shitgibbon. 

He gave a speech from a balcony at Montreal's city hall, bellowing the words "vive le Quebec libre". In doing so, he fanned the flames of sovereigntists, insulted the actions of Canadian veterans who had fought and died to free his country during the Second World War, and insulted the country as a whole. I still hold that nothing he did during that war couldn't have been done by another French officer, and that history might have been better served if some lucky German sniper had taken him out in 1940. I'd use more colourful language, but the Sisters of Little Or No Mercy are already mad enough at me.

During the 1960s, terrorism and extremism began to grow in Quebec, with the growth of the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ). They began carrying out a series of bombing attacks.

This is the armor and robot vehicle of a police bomb squad member of that period, not so different from the current counterpart.

The October Crisis of 1970 began when the FLQ kidnapped Pierre Laporte, a provincial cabinet minister, and James Cross, a British diplomat.

Prime Minister Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act as a response.

Cross was eventually freed from captivity, while Laporte was murdered.

New Paths Forward

 Picking up where I left off yesterday, there is a video with testimony and memories of residential school survivors, who testified before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the damage that residential schools did to their lives and their families. Entirely appropriate to include it as part of the exhibit, and it is heartbreaking.

Christi Belcourt created a stained glass window matching pair called Looking Ahead. One is here, while the other is at Parliament Hill. It is drawn out of the work of the Commission, and reminds us of the work that lies ahead.

This is the ceremonial headdress of Phil Fontaine, a former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and a survivor of residential schools.

A century ago, tribes began to understand that it was through organization and political activism in the country that they could begin to effect change for the better.

This is the traditional dress of Autumn Pelletier, who has become a strong advocate for indigenous rights, both in Canada and around the world.

The Meech Lake Accord was an attempt by the federal government to update the Constitution. One of the reasons the Accord fell apart was the objections of a member of the legislative assembly of Manitoba, Elijah Harper, who on a point of principle refused to endorse it, as it did not address concerns of Aboriginal people. He was right.

The Oka Crisis was an armed standoff in 1990, between Mohawks and the police, Mounties, and army near the town of Oka in Quebec over development on disputed land. 

The partitioning of the Northwest Territories into two territories- the NWT and Nunavut- was a long process that saw Inuit government in the far north.

Examples of indigenous art round out this area.

The Goal Of Reconciliation

 More images of the country's centennial year are seen here.

Canadian accomplishments on the world stage. Northern Dancer was a Canadian horse, one of the great horses in racing history, and the first Canadian to win the Kentucky Derby. Retired to sire more horses, his legacy is still present among racehorses today. In center, a suitcase belonging to Glenn Gould, the Canadian classical pianist who was deemed a virtuoso of the industry. And Nancy Greene is one of the country's greatest Olympic athletes. 

Terry Fox left a big legacy behind that endures today. He was a runner who lost a leg to cancer, decided that he would raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society by running across the country from east to west. He started in St. John's, Newfoundland in April 1980, running the equivalent of a marathon a day, before cancer returned and cut his journey short near Thunder Bay in Ontario. He would die of cancer the following year, but each year, millions of people around the world follow his example to raise money in the fight against cancer, running in Terry Fox Runs. 

This is a prototype of his prosthetic leg.

Our relationship with our southern neighbours is one that has a big influence on us- for good and bad. SCTV was a comedy series of the late 70s and early 80s that also got broadcast south of the border. Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas played off the differences between countries in their characters, the Mackenzie Brothers.

On September 11th, 2001, the country offered shelter to incoming planes from around the world as America closed down its airspace after the terror attacks, taking in travelers who would have understandably been in a state of shock after that. This photograph dates to a ceremony one year after that day. 

We move into an area that looks at Canada through a series of themes. The first being the First Peoples, and it is a troubled one. Following Confederation, the government chose the wrong courses of action. Instead of treating as a partner, the choice was that of subjugation.

Inuit statues, but with a dark story to them. Tuberculosis outbreaks in the Far North in the 1940s and 50s required medical evacuations of patients to the south. Their families were often not even informed that their loved ones had died.

The residential school program was the darkest aspect of this oppression, with the intent to simply "civilize the Indian". Children were sent to boarding schools run by religious organizations, separated from families without understanding why, treated with neglect or abuse, and traumatized in ways that left lasting scars. This was a decades long scar on the country, with the last schools only closed in the 1990s.

This quote, by one of the missionaries involved in the program, spoke for itself.

Every dot on this map represents one of the residential schools. With the exception of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, each province and territory had them.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was active from 2008-15, tasked with documenting the history of residential schools and their impact on people across the country, gathering testimony and evidence, and making recommendations on how to right this terrible wrong. It was led by Murray Sinclair, an Ojibwe lawyer, judge, professor, and politician. His quote printed here is very wise.