View source for October Crisis

{{short description|1970 series of events in Quebec, Canada}}
{{about|the 1970 event in Canada}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = October Crisis
| partof            = the [[Quebec sovereignty movement]]
| image             = LiberationCellSurrender.jpg
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = Troop movements during the surrender of the Chénier Cell
| date              = October 5&nbsp;– December 28, 1970
| place             = [[Greater Montreal]] area, [[Quebec]]{{efn|The federal government also deployed troops to protect federal employees and structures in a number of cities outside of Quebec, particularly in [[Ottawa]], Ontario.}}
| result            = Canadian government victory
* Capture and arrest of [[Paul Rose (political figure)|Paul Rose]], [[Jacques Rose]] and [[Francis Simard]]
* Loss of public support for the FLQ<ref name="flqanatomy"/>
| combatant1        = {{flag|Canada}}
* {{flag|Quebec}}
| combatant2        = {{flagicon image|Bandera FLQ.svg}} [[Front de libération du Québec]]
| commander1        = {{ubl| {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Pierre Trudeau]]| {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Robert Bourassa]]| {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Donald Stovel Macdonald]]| {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Gilles Turcot]]| {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Pierre Laporte]]{{Assassinated}}| {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Jean Drapeau]]}}
| commander2        = {{ubl| {{flagicon image|Bandera FLQ.svg}} [[Paul Rose (political figure)|Paul Rose]]{{POW}}| {{flagicon image|Bandera FLQ.svg}} [[Jacques Rose]]{{POW}}| {{flagicon image|Bandera FLQ.svg}} [[Francis Simard]]{{POW}}| {{flagicon image|Bandera FLQ.svg}} [[Jacques Lanctôt]]| {{flagicon image|Bandera FLQ.svg}} [[Jacques Cossette-Trudel]]| {{flagicon image|Bandera FLQ.svg}} [[Bernard Lortie]]}}
| units1            = {{ubli|[[Canadian Forces]]|[[Sûreté du Québec]]}}
| units2            = {{ubli|[[Chénier Cell]]|[[Liberation Cell]]}}
| casualties1       = {{ubli|1 soldier killed in an accident|1 civilian murdered}}
| casualties2       = c. 30 arrested
| casualties3       = 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''' ({{langx|fr|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 Prime Minister [[Pierre Trudeau]] invoking the ''[[War Measures Act]]'' for the first time in Canadian history during peacetime. Laporte was assassinated over the course of the crisis.

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 the civil power|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 [[Greater Montreal|metropolitan area of Montreal]]. The primary crises ended on December 28, but its ramifications extended across subsequent Canadian political administrations. 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 the [[Parti Québécois]], which formed the provincial government in 1976.

==Background==
From 1963 to 1970, the [[Quebec nationalism|Quebec nationalist]] group [[Front de libération du Québec]] detonated over 200 bombs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/front-de-liberation-du-quebec |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref> While mailboxes, particularly in the affluent and predominantly Anglophone city of [[Westmount]], were common targets, the [[Montreal Stock Exchange bombing|largest single bombing]] occurred at the [[Montreal Stock Exchange]] on February 13, 1969, which caused extensive damage and injured 27 people. Other targets included [[Montreal City Hall]], [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]], the [[Eaton's|T. Eaton Company]] department store,<ref>{{cite news |title=Jan. 1, 1969: When FLQ bombs rang in the new year for Montrealers |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/jan-1-1969-when-flq-bombs-rang-in-the-new-year-for-montrealers/article33462689/ |last=Ha |first=Tu Thanh |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=December 30, 2016 |access-date=October 12, 2021}}/</ref> armed forces recruiting offices, railway tracks, statues,<ref>{{cite news |last=Peritz |first=Ingrid |date=May 21, 2017 |title=A headless statue of Queen Victoria, the FLQ and Quebec's fractious relationship with the monarchy |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-headless-statue-of-queen-victoria-the-flq-and-quebecs-fractious-relationship-with-the-monarchy/article35074360/ |access-date=March 28, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Wolfe monument on Plains a rare reminder of FLQ spree of terror |url=https://qcna.qc.ca/news/wolfe-monument-on-plains-a-rare-reminder-of-flq-spree-of-terror |access-date=March 28, 2022 |website=QCNA EN |archive-date=December 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201164739/https://qcna.qc.ca/news/wolfe-monument-on-plains-a-rare-reminder-of-flq-spree-of-terror |url-status=dead }}</ref> and army installations. In a strategic move, FLQ members stole several tons of [[dynamite]] from military and industrial sites. Financed by [[bank robbery|bank robberies]], they also threatened, via their official communication organ ''La Cognée'',<ref>{{cite journal |last=FLQ |date=1963 |title=La Cognée |journal=La Cognée |language=fr |issn=0845-3144 |oclc=19977093}}</ref> that more attacks were to come.

On July 24, 1967, the nationalist cause received support from French President [[Charles de Gaulle]] who, standing on a balcony in [[Montreal]], shouted "{{lang|fr|[[Vive le Québec libre]]}}". De Gaulle was promptly rebuked by Canadian Prime Minister [[Lester Pearson]]. In a statement delivered to the French embassy Pearson declared, "The people of Canada are free. Every province in Canada is free. Canadians do not need to be liberated. Indeed, many thousands of Canadians gave their lives in two world wars in the liberation of France and other European countries."<ref>{{cite news |last=Walz |first=Jay |title=Pearson Rebukes De Gaulle on Call for Free Quebec |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/07/26/issue.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 26, 1967 |pages=1, 12 |access-date=November 18, 2020}}</ref>

By 1970, 23 members of the FLQ were in prison, including four convicted of [[murder]]. On February 26, 1970, two men in a [[panel truck]], including [[Jacques Lanctôt]], were arrested in Montreal when they were found with a [[sawed-off shotgun]] and a communiqué announcing the kidnapping of the Israeli consul. In June, police raided a home in the small community of [[Prévost, Quebec|Prévost]], located north of Montreal in the Laurentian Mountains, and found firearms, ammunition, {{convert|300|lb|order=flip}} of dynamite, detonators, and the draft of a [[ransom note]] to be used in the kidnapping of the United States consul.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |title=Chronology of the October Crisis, 1970, and its Aftermath – Quebec History |publisher=.marianopolis.edu |access-date=February 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213235102/http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |archive-date=February 13, 2007}}</ref>

==Timeline==
{{further|Timeline of the Front de libération du Québec}}

[[File:EC 2012-07-30.b1 IMG 0003-V.2.jpg|thumb|A mailbox in Montreal bearing the graffiti {{lang|fr|FLQ oui}} (FLQ yes) in July 1971. The FLQ conducted several bombings of post boxes which typically bore a decal of the [[Arms of Canada|royal coat of arms of Canada]].]]

* October 5: Montreal, Quebec: Two members of the "[[Liberation Cell]]" of the FLQ kidnap [[United Kingdom|British]] diplomat [[James Cross]] from his home. The kidnappers are disguised as delivery men bringing a package for his recent birthday. Once the maid lets them in, they pull out a rifle and a revolver and kidnap Cross. This is followed by a communiqué to the authorities containing the kidnappers' demands, which included the exchange of Cross for "political prisoners", a number of convicted or detained FLQ members, and the CBC broadcast of the [[FLQ Manifesto]].<ref>{{cite AV media|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-71-101-613/conflict_war/october_crisis/ |title=FLQ manifesto read on-air|website=archives.cbc.ca |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040407171751/http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-71-101-613/conflict_war/october_crisis/ |archive-date=7 April 2004 |url-status=dead|date=October 8, 1970 |type=Television broadcast}}</ref> The terms of the ransom note are the same as those found in June for the planned kidnapping of the U.S. consul. At this time, the police do not connect the two.
* October 8 - 10: A broadcast of the FLQ Manifesto in all French- and English-speaking media outlets is released in Quebec on October 8. On the 10th, also in Montreal, members of the [[Chénier Cell]] of the FLQ approach the home of the Quebec Minister of Labour, [[Pierre Laporte]]. While playing football with his nephew on his front lawn, Laporte is kidnapped.
* October 11 - 12: The [[CBC Television|CBC]] broadcasts a letter from captivity<ref>{{cite AV media|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-71-101-615/conflict_war/october_crisis/ |title=A letter from captivity |website=archives.cbc.ca |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040407173957/http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-71-101-615/conflict_war/october_crisis/ |archive-date=7 April 2004 |url-status=dead |date=October 11, 1970 |type=Television broadcast}}</ref> from Pierre Laporte to the [[Premier of Quebec]], Robert Bourassa on October 11.<ref name="google1">{{cite book |last1=Bothwell |first1=Robert |last2=Drummond |first2=Ian M. |last3=English |first3=John |title=Canada since 1945: power, politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMaS5cb7s8QC&q=%22Paul+Sauve+Arena%22+%2BFLQ&pg=PA371 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |date=January 1989 |access-date=February 19, 2011 |isbn=9780802066725 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> By request of the federal government, General [[Gilles Turcot]] sends troops from the Canadian Forces to guard federal property in the Ottawa region the next day.<ref>Appendix D of ''The October Crisis, 1970: An Insider's View'', by Prof. William Tetley.{{cite web |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/maritimelaw/crisis/ |title=October Crisis 1970 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614020742/http://www.mcgill.ca/maritimelaw/crisis/ |archive-date=June 14, 2009}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}} Lawyer [[Robert Lemieux]] is appointed by the FLQ to negotiate the release of James Cross and Pierre Laporte. The Quebec government appoints Robert Demers.<ref>Tetley, William. The October Crisis, 1970 : An Insider View, pg 202. Demers, Robert. "Memories of October 70 (2010)" https://sites.google.com/site/octobercrisis70/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021003113/https://sites.google.com/site/octobercrisis70/ |date=October 21, 2020}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}}
* October 13: Prime Minister Trudeau is interviewed by the CBC with respect to the military presence.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2565499342 |title=1970: Pierre Trudeau says 'Just watch me' during October Crisis|time=6:05|website=archives.cbc.ca|publisher=[[CBC Television]]|access-date=November 22, 2023}}</ref> In a combative interview Trudeau asks the reporter, [[Tim Ralfe]], what he would do in his place. When Ralfe asks Trudeau how far he would go, Trudeau replies, "[[Just watch me]]".
* October 14: Sixteen prominent Quebec personalities, including René Lévesque and [[Claude Ryan]], call for negotiating "exchange of the two hostages for the political prisoners". FLQ's lawyer [[Robert Lemieux]] urges [[Université de Montréal]] (University of Montreal) students to boycott classes in support of FLQ.
* October 15: [[Quebec City]]: The negotiations between the lawyers Lemieux and Demers are put to an end.<ref name="sites.google.com">Demers, Robert. "Memories of October 70 (2010)" https://sites.google.com/site/octobercrisis70/ {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021003113/https://sites.google.com/site/octobercrisis70/ |date=October 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The October Crisis|url=https://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP16CH1PA4LE.html |access-date=March 2, 2021 |website=www.cbc.ca |publisher=CBC Television}}</ref> The Government of Quebec formally requisitions the Canadian Forces in "aid of the civil power" pursuant to the ''National Defence Act''. All three opposition parties, including the [[Parti Québécois]], rise in the National Assembly and agree with the decision. On the same day separatist groups are permitted to speak<ref>{{cite AV media|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-71-101-617/conflict_war/october_crisis/|title=FLQ rallies students|website=archives.cbc.ca|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040407180317/http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-71-101-617/conflict_war/october_crisis/|archive-date=7 April 2004 |url-status=dead|date=October 15, 1970|type=Television broadcast}}</ref> at the [[Université de Montréal]]. Robert Lemieux organizes 3,000 students in a rally in [[Paul Sauvé Arena]] to show support for the FLQ; labour leader [[Michel Chartrand]] announces that popular support for FLQ is rising<ref name="google1"/> and states "We are going to win because there are more boys ready to shoot members of [[Parliament of Canada|Parliament]] than there are policemen."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/series/trudeau/jgray2_sep30.html |title=The Globe and Mail: Series – Pierre Elliott Trudeau 1919–2000 |access-date=April 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118071232/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/series/trudeau/jgray2_sep30.html |archive-date=January 18, 2008}}</ref> The rally frightens many Canadians, who view it as a possible prelude to outright insurrection in Quebec.
* October 16: Premier Bourassa formally requests that the government of Canada grant the government of Quebec "emergency powers" that allow them to "apprehend and keep in custody"<ref>{{cite web|date=April 30, 2006 |title=Letters from the Quebec Authorities requesting the Implementation of the War Measures Act (October 15-16, 1971) - Quebec History|url=http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/docs/october/letters.htm|access-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060430094607/http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/docs/october/letters.htm|archive-date=April 30, 2006}}</ref> individuals. This results in the implementation of the ''War Measures Act'', allowing the suspension of ''[[habeas corpus]]'', giving wide-reaching powers of arrest to police. The City of Montreal had already made such a request on the previous day. These measures came into effect at 4:00&nbsp;a.m. Prime Minister Trudeau makes a broadcast announcing the imposition of the ''War Measures Act''.
* October 17: Montreal, Quebec: The Chénier cell of the FLQ announces that hostage Pierre Laporte has been executed. He was strangled and then stuffed in the trunk of a car and abandoned in the bush near [[Montréal/St-Hubert Airport|Saint-Hubert Airport]], a few miles from Montreal. A communique to police advising that Pierre Laporte has been executed refers to him derisively as the "minister of unemployment and assimilation". In another communique issued by the "Liberation cell" holding James Cross, his kidnappers declare that they are suspending indefinitely the death sentence against him, that they will not release him until their demands are met, and that he will be executed if the "fascist police" discover them and attempt to intervene. The demands they make are: {{ordered list | The publication of the FLQ manifesto | The release of 23 "political prisoners" | An airplane to take them to either [[Cuba]] or [[Algeria]] (both countries that they feel a strong connection to because of their struggle against colonialism and imperialism). | The re-hiring of the "gars de Lapalme". | A "voluntary tax" of 500,000 dollars to be loaded aboard the plane prior to departure. | The name of the informer who had sold out the FLQ activists earlier in the year.<ref>FLQ: The Anatomy of an Underground Movement</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2020}}}} Controversially, police reports (which were not released to the public until 2010) state that Pierre Laporte was accidentally killed during a struggle. The FLQ subsequently wanted to use his death to its advantage by convincing the government that they should be taken seriously.{{failed verification|date=February 2019}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/2010/09/23/006-flq-mort-laporte.shtml |title=Révélations sur la mort de Pierre Laporte |work=Radio Canada |access-date=March 18, 2013 |date=September 24, 2010 |language=fr |trans-title=Revelations on the murder of Pierre Laporte}}</ref>
* October 18: While denouncing the acts of "subversion and terrorism – both of which are so tragically contrary to the best interests of our people", columnist, politician, and future Premier of Quebec René Lévesque criticizes the ''War Measures Act'': "Until we receive proof (of the size the revolutionary army) to the contrary, we will believe that such a minute, numerically unimportant fraction is involved, that rushing into the enactment of the ''War Measures Act'' was a panicky and altogether excessive reaction, especially when you think of the inordinate length of time they want to maintain this regime."<ref>{{cite web |title=Statement by René Lévesque on the ''War Measures Act'' – Quebec History |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/docs/october/levesque.htm |publisher=Faculty.marianopolis.edu |date=October 17, 1970 |access-date=February 19, 2011}}</ref>
* November 6: Police raid the hiding place of the FLQ's Chénier cell. Although three members escape the raid, [[Bernard Lortie]] is arrested and charged with the kidnapping and murder of Pierre Laporte.
* December 3: Montreal, Quebec: After being held hostage for 62 days, kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross is released by the FLQ Liberation Cell after negotiations between lawyers Bernard Mergler and Robert Demers.<ref name="sites.google.com"/>{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}}<ref>''Montreal Star'' interview of Bernard Mergler published on December 7, 1970, http://www.tou.tv/tout-le-monde-en-parlait/S05E16 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308124846/http://www.tou.tv/tout-le-monde-en-parlait/S05E16 |date=March 8, 2013}} [archive]</ref> Simultaneously, the five known kidnappers, [[Marc Carbonneau]], [[Yves Langlois]], [[Jacques Lanctôt]], [[Jacques Cossette-Trudel]] and his wife, [[Louise Lanctôt]], are granted safe passage to [[Cuba]] by the government of Canada after approval by [[Fidel Castro]]. They are flown to Cuba by a [[Canadian Forces]] aircraft. Jacques Lanctôt is the same man who, earlier that year, had been arrested and then released on bail for the attempted kidnapping of the Israeli consul.<ref>{{cite web |title=www.canadiansoldiers.com |url=https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/domesticmissions/flqcrisis.htm |access-date=December 14, 2023 |website=www.canadiansoldiers.com}}</ref>
* December 23: Prime Minister [[Pierre Trudeau]] announces that all troops stationed in Quebec will be withdrawn by January 5, 1971.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |title=Chronology of the October Crisis, 1970, and its Aftermath – Quebec History |publisher=.marianopolis.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213235102/http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |archive-date=February 13, 2007}}</ref>
* December 28: [[Saint-Luc, Quebec]]: The three members of the Chénier Cell still at large, [[Paul Rose (Quebec)|Paul Rose]], [[Jacques Rose]], and [[Francis Simard]], are arrested after being found hiding in a  {{Convert|6|m|ft|abbr=out|adj=on}} tunnel in a rural farming community. They would later be charged with the kidnapping and murder of Pierre Laporte.

==War Measures Act and military involvement==
[[File:Soldier-and-child-octcri.jpg|thumb|Canadian Forces stand guard in downtown Montreal. (Image: ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' October 18, 1970)]]

When Trudeau was asked by [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] reporter Tim Ralfe how far he was willing to go to stop the FLQ, he replied: "[[Just watch me]]." Three days later, on October 16, the [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]], under Trudeau's chairmanship, [[advice (constitutional)|advised]] the governor general to invoke the ''War Measures Act'' at the request of the Premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa; and the Mayor of Montreal, [[Jean Drapeau]]. The ''War Measures Act'' gave sweeping powers of arrest and internment to the police. The provisions took effect at 4&nbsp;a.m. and, shortly after that, hundreds of suspected FLQ members and sympathizers were rounded-up. In total, 497 people were arrested, including union activist [[Michel Chartrand]],<ref name="DouglasChartrandObit">{{cite news |last1=Douglas |first1=Martin |title=Michel Chartrand, Fiery Labor Union Leader in Quebec, Is Dead at 93 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/world/americas/18chartrand.html |access-date=16 February 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 17, 2010}}</ref> singer [[Pauline Julien]] and her partner, future Quebec Minister [[Gérald Godin]], poet [[Gaston Miron]], Dr. Henri Bellemare, [[simple living]] advocate [[Serge Mongeau]], and [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] journalist [[Nick Auf der Maur]] and a junior producer.<ref name="Tetley2007">{{cite book |last1=Tetley |first1=William |title=The October Crisis, 1970: An Insider's View |date=2007 |publisher=McGill-Queen’s University Press |location=Montreal & Kingston |isbn=978-0-7735-3118-5}}</ref>{{rp|97}}

This act was imposed after the negotiations with the FLQ had broken down, and the premier of Quebec was facing the next stage in the FLQ's agenda.<ref name="insider">{{Cite book |title=The October Crisis, 1970 : an insider's view |last=Tetley |first=William |date=2007 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=9780773576605 |location=Montréal [Que.] |oclc=716062232}}</ref>{{rp|88}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}}

At the time, opinion polls in Quebec and the rest of Canada showed overwhelming support for the ''War Measures Act'';<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |title=Chronology of the October Crisis, 1970, and its Aftermath – Quebec History |access-date=April 13, 2008 |quote=There was widespread editorial approval of the action taken by the federal government; only Claude Ryan, in Le Devoir, condemned it as did René Lévesque, leader of the Parti Québécois. Polls taken shortly afterward showed that there was as much as 92% approval for the action taken by the Federal government. |archive-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723204312/http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |title=Chronology of the October Crisis, 1970, and its Aftermath – Quebec History |access-date=April 13, 2008 |quote=In a series of polls conducted over the next few weeks, public support for the course of action undertaken by the Government of Canada continued to be overwhelming (72 to 84% approval rate). In a poll conducted on December 19 by the Canadian Institute of Public Opinion, Canadians indicated that their opinion of Trudeau, Bourassa, Caouette, and Robarts, who had all expressed strong support for the ''War Measures Act'', was more favourable than before, while their view of Stanfield and Douglas, who had expressed reservations for the act, was less favourable than previously. |archive-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723204312/http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> in a December 1970 [[Gallup Poll]], it was noted that 89% of English-speaking Canadians and 86% of French-speaking Canadians supported the introduction of the ''War Measures Act''. They respectively showed 6% and 9% disapproval while the remaining 5% of each population was undecided.<ref name="insider"/>{{rp|103}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}} Since then, the government's use of the ''War Measures Act'' in peacetime has been a subject of debate in Canada as it gave police sweeping powers of arrest and detention.

Simultaneously, under provisions quite separate from the ''War Measures Act'' and much more commonly used, the solicitor-general of Quebec requisitioned the military's deployment from the chief of the Defence Staff in accordance with the ''[[National Defence Act]]''. Troops from Quebec bases and elsewhere in the country were dispatched, under the direction of the {{lang|fr|i=unset|[[Sûreté du Québec]]}} (Quebec's provincial police force), to guard vulnerable points and prominent individuals at risk. This freed up police resources to pursue more proactive tasks in dealing with the crisis.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

The two named Canadian Forces operations were Operation Ginger (to mount guards on the Government of Canada buildings and significant residences outside of Quebec) and Operation Essay (to provide aid to Quebec's civil power).<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.archeion.ca/operation-ginger-and-operation-essay|title=Operation Ginger and Operation Essay|access-date=January 16, 2018|via=Archeion – MemoryBC – Aberta on Record}}</ref> The {{lang|fr|i=unset|[[Royal 22nd Regiment|Royal 22<sup>e</sup> Régiment]]}}, more commonly known as the "Van Doos", the most famous French-Canadian regiment in the Canadian Army, was deployed to Montreal to guard buildings. It was understood that deploying troops from English-speaking regiments in Quebec as an aid to civil power would be politically problematic. Throughout the operation, the Army made a point of deploying primarily French-Canadian soldiers to guard buildings in Quebec.<ref name="milhist">{{Cite book |title=A military history of Canada |last=Desmond. |first=Morton |date=1999 |publisher=McClelland & Stewart |isbn=9780771065149 |edition=4th |location=Toronto |oclc=44844868}}</ref>{{rp|257}} The {{lang|fr|i=unset|Royal 22<sup>e</sup> Régiment}} was based in Quebec City, but it was felt that having the "Van Doos" perform guard duty in Montreal, the largest city in Quebec, would be less likely to offend public opinion.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|257}} The Canadian Army saw no action during its deployment, which lasted until November 12. One soldier was killed when he tripped over his loaded rifle while on guard duty and inadvertently shot and killed himself.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|257}}

Outside Quebec, mainly in the Ottawa area, the federal government deployed troops under its own authority to guard federal offices and employees. The combination of the increased powers of arrest granted by the ''War Measures Act'', and the military deployment requisitioned and controlled by Quebec's government gave every appearance that martial law had been imposed. However, a significant difference was that the military remained in a support role to the civil authorities (in this case, Quebec authorities) and never had a judicial role. It still allowed for the criticism of the government, and the {{lang|fr|i=unset|[[Parti Québécois]]}} was able to go about its everyday business free of any restrictions, including the criticism of the government and the ''War Measures Act''.<ref name="insider"/>{{rp|88}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}}

Nevertheless, many Canadians found the sight of tanks outside the federal parliament disconcerting. Moreover, police officials sometimes abused their powers without just cause, and some prominent artists and intellectuals associated with the [[Quebec sovereignty movement|sovereignty movement]] were detained.<ref name="socialisthistory.ca">{{cite web |url=http://www.socialisthistory.ca/Docs/1961-/Quebec/October-2.htm |title=Socialist History Project – Socialists and the October Crisis, Part 2 |access-date=April 13, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Robot des forces canadiennes lors de la crise d'octobre de 1970.jpg|thumb|Canadian Forces [[bomb disposal robot]] from the [[Canadian War Museum]], used during the October Crisis]]

The October Crisis was the only occasion in which the ''War Measures Act'' was invoked in peacetime. The FLQ was declared an unlawful association, which meant that, under the ''War Measures Act,'' the police had full power to arrest, interrogate, and hold anyone whom they believed was associated with the FLQ: "A person who was a member to this group, acted or supported it in some fashion became liable to a jail term not to exceed five years. A person arrested for such a purpose could be held without bail for up to ninety days."<ref>{{cite web|last=Belanger|first=Claude|url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm|title=Chronology of the October Crisis, 1970, and its Aftermath – Quebec History|work=History Prof.|publisher=Marianopolis College|access-date=January 26, 2014|archive-date=July 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723204312/http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is estimated that within the first 24 hours of the ''War Measures Act'' being put in place, police had mobilized to arrest suspects of the unlawful organization. The police conducted 3000 searches, and 497 people were detained.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tetley|first=William|title=The Importance of the Quebec "October Crisis, 1970" to the "Quiet Revolution" in the Province of Quebec (and the rest of Canada (ROC) as well)|url=http://www.mcgill.ca/files/maritimelaw/Quietrevolution.doc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303203749/http://www.mcgill.ca/files/maritimelaw/Quietrevolution.doc|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 3, 2014|publisher=McGill University|access-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref> 
 
The ''War Measures Act'' also violated and limited many human rights of people being incarcerated: "Everyone arrested under the ''War Measures Act'' was denied due process. [[Habeas corpus]] (an individual's right to have a judge confirm that they have been lawfully detained) was suspended. [[The Crown]] could detain a suspect for seven days before charging them with a crime. In addition, the attorney general could order, before the seven days expired, that the accused be held for up to 21 days. The prisoners were not permitted to consult legal counsel, and many were held [[Solitary confinement|incommunicado]]."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Clement|first=Dominique|title=The October Crisis of 1970: Human Rights Abuses Under the ''War Measures Act''|journal=Journal of Canadian Studies|year=2008|volume=42|issue=2|pages=160–186|url=https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/pubs/article_JCS.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207025247/https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/pubs/article_JCS.pdf |archive-date=2021-02-07 |url-status=live|access-date=December 16, 2023|doi=10.3138/jcs.42.2.160|s2cid=142290392}}</ref>
 
Several of those detained were upset by the method of their interrogation. However, most of those interviewed after had little cause to complain, and several even commented on the courteous nature of the interrogations and searches.<ref name="insider"/>{{rp|88}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}} In addition, the [[Politics of Quebec#Quebec Ombudsman|Quebec Ombudsman]], Louis Marceau, was instructed to hear complaints of detainees, and the Quebec government agreed to pay damages to any person unjustly arrested. On February 3, 1971, [[John Turner]], [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|Minister of Justice of Canada]], reported that 497 persons had been arrested under the ''War Measures Act'', 435 of whom had already been released. The other 62 were charged, of whom 32 were accused of crimes of such seriousness that a [[Quebec Superior Court]] judge refused them bail. 

Regarding Trudeau's invocation of the ''War Measures Act'', the Canadian historian [[Desmond Morton (historian)|Desmond Morton]] wrote: "It was unprecedented. On the basis of facts then and revealed later, it was unjustified. It was also a brilliant success. Shock was the best safeguard against bloodshed. Trudeau's target was not two frightened little bands of terrorists, one of which soon strangled its helpless victim: it was the affluent dilettantes of revolutionary violence, cheering on the anonymous heroes of the FLQ. The proclamation of the ''War Measures Act'' and the thousands of grim troops pouring into Montreal froze the cheers, dispersed the coffee-table revolutionaries, and left them frightened and isolated while the police rounded up suspects whose offence, if any, was dreaming of blood in the streets".<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|257}}

==Aftermath==
{{see also|Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP}}
Pierre Laporte was eventually found killed by his captors, while James Cross was freed after 59 days as a result of negotiations with the kidnappers who requested exile to Cuba rather than facing trial in Quebec. The cell members responsible for Laporte's death were arrested and charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder after they returned.

The response by the federal and provincial governments to the incident still sparks controversy. This is the only time that the ''War Measures Act'' had been put in place during peacetime in Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/terrorists/flq/11.html |title=Quebec terrorists FLQ kidnapped 2 & began the Oct crisis |access-date=April 13, 2008 |quote=Public opinion polls showed that nearly nine in 10 citizens – both Anglo and French-speaking – supported Trudeau's hard-line tactics against the FLQ. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080131032330/http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/terrorists/flq/11.html |archive-date=January 31, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>  A few critics (most notably Tommy Douglas and some members of the [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic Party]])<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/top_ten/nominee/douglas-tommy-know.html |title=Top Ten Greatest Canadians – Tommy Douglas |access-date=April 13, 2008 |quote=The decision to vote against the motion (which passed with a majority vote) was not viewed favourably; the approval rating for the NDP dropped to seven percent in public opinion polls. Still, Douglas maintained that Trudeau was going too far: "The government, I submit, is using a sledgehammer to crack a peanut." |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080425041156/http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/top_ten/nominee/douglas-tommy-know.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = April 25, 2008}}</ref> believed that Trudeau was excessive in advising the use of the ''War Measures Act'' to suspend [[civil liberties]] and that the precedent set by this incident was dangerous. Federal Progressive Conservative leader [[Robert Stanfield]] initially supported Trudeau's actions but later regretted doing so.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irpp.org/po/archive/feb04/McQueen.pdf |title=Remembering Robert Stanfield: A Good-Humoured and Gallant Man |access-date=April 13, 2008 |quote=That particular backing [of the ''War Measures Act''] was Stanfield's only regret in a long political life. He later admitted that he wished he had joined his lone dissenting colleague, David MacDonald, who voted against the ''Public Order Temporary Measures Act'' when it came before the House that November. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414090627/http://www.irpp.org/po/archive/feb04/McQueen.pdf |archive-date=April 14, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1972, [[Michael Forrestall]], the defence critic in the Conservative shadow cabinet, warned when Trudeau stated he would use the ''War Measures Act'' again, "the deliberate use of the military to enforce the will of one group of Canadians over the will of another group of Canadians is detrimental to the credibility of the armed forces."<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|257}} The size of the FLQ organization and the number of sympathizers in the public was not known. However, in its Manifesto the FLQ stated: "In the coming year (Quebec Premier Robert) Bourassa will have to face reality; 100,000 revolutionary workers, armed and organized."<ref name="Marcel Rioux">{{cite book|author=Rioux, Marcel|title=Quebec in Question|url=http://www.lorimer.ca/en/Book/1760/Quebec-in-Question.html|year=1971|publisher=Lorimer|isbn=978-0-88862-191-7|pages=210}}</ref> Given this declaration, seven years of bombings, and communiques throughout that time that strove to present an image of a powerful organization spread secretly throughout all sectors of society, the authorities took significant action.

The events of October 1970 marked a significant loss of support for the violent wing of the Quebec sovereigntist movement.  This came after it had gained support over nearly ten years<ref name="flqanatomy">{{Cite book|last=Fournier|first=Louis|title=F.L.Q. : the anatomy of an underground movement|publisher=NC Press|year=1984|isbn=9780919601918|location=Toronto|oclc=11406935}}</ref>{{rp|256}} and increased support for political means of attaining independence, including support for the sovereigntist Parti Québécois, which went on to take power at the provincial level in [[1976 Quebec general election|1976]]. In 1987, after the defeat of the [[Meech Lake Accord]], which sought to amend the [[Constitution of Canada]] to resolve the passage by a previous government of the ''[[Constitution Act 1982]]'' without Quebec's ratification, a pro-independence political party, the [[Bloc Québécois]], was also created at the federal level.

The deployment of the military as an aid to civil power was very unpopular with the senior leadership of the Canadian Forces.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|257}} In the 1950s the primary purpose of the Canadian Army was to fight against the Red Army in Central Europe if World War Three broke out.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|238}} During the Pearson years and even more so under Trudeau there was a tendency on the part of the government to cut military spending and to shift the role of the Canadian Forces to acting more as an internal security force.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|256}} In 1968–69, Trudeau had seriously considered pulling out of NATO and stayed only to avoid damaging relations with the United States and Western Europe.

On April 3, 1969, Trudeau announced that Canada would stay in NATO after all, but he drastically cut military spending and pulled out half of the 10,000 Canadian soldiers and airmen stationed in West Germany.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|255}} In the same speech Trudeau stated that safeguarding Canada against external and internal threats would be the number-one mission of the Canadian Forces, guarding North America in co-operation with the United States would be the number-two mission, and NATO commitments would be the number-three mission.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|255}} In early 1970 the government introduced a white paper ''Defence in the Seventies'', which stated the "Priority One" of the Canadian Forces would be upholding internal security rather than preparing for World War III, which of course meant a sharp cut in military spending since the future enemy was now envisioned to be the FLQ rather than the Red Army.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|256}}

The October Crisis, much to the dismay of the generals, was used by Trudeau as an argument for transforming the Canadian Forces into a force whose "Priority One" was internal security.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|257}} Many officers knew very well that the "Priority One" of internal security was "a greater threat than any other potential role."<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|255}} By the end of the 1970s, the Canadian Forces had been transformed by Trudeau into an internal security force that was not capable of fighting a major conventional war.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|259–260}}

By 1982 all the convicted participants had been paroled and all of those sent to Cuba had returned to Canada, some having completed short sentences. In 1988, the ''War Measures Act'' was replaced by the ''[[Emergencies Act]]'' and subsequently the ''[[Emergency Preparedness Act]].'' This in turn was replaced by the ''[[Emergency Management Act]]'' in 2007. The use of war measures in peacetime continues to be a significant point of contention amongst the Canadian public.

In October 2020, 50 years following the October Crisis, [[Yves-François Blanchet]], the party and parliamentary leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois, introduced a motion in the House of Commons demanding an official apology from the federal government, now led by Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]], son of Pierre Trudeau, for invoking the ''War Measures Act''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bloc seeks official apology for October Crisis detentions |url=https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1813403715519}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
*''[[The Revolution Script]]'', a [[Non-fiction novel|fictionalised account]] by [[Northern Irish]]-[[Canadians|Canadian]] novelist [[Brian Moore (novelist)|Brian Moore]] of key events in Quebec's October Crisis, was published in Canada and the United States at the end of 1971.
* Canadian playwright [[George Ryga]]'s ''[[Captives of the Faceless Drummer]]'' was inspired by the October Crisis. The [[Vancouver Playhouse (theatre venue)|Vancouver Playhouse]] chose not to stage it as it was deemed too controversial.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Innes |first=Christopher |date=1985-01-01 |title=The Psychology of Politics: George Ryga's Captives of the Faceless Drummer |url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/TRIC/article/view/7428 |journal=Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches théâtrales au Canada |volume=6 |pages=23–43 |doi=10.3138/tric.6.1.23 |issn=1913-9101|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* ''Action: The October Crisis of 1970'' and ''[[Reaction: A Portrait of a Society in Crisis]]'', two 1973 documentary films by Robin Spry.<ref name="Spry">{{cite web |url=http://www.nfb.ca/film/action_the_october_crisis_of_1970 |title=Action: The October Crisis of 1970 |last=Spry |first=Robin |year=1973 |work=Documentary film |publisher=[[National Film Board of Canada]] |access-date=October 5, 2009}}</ref>
* ''[[Orders (1974 film)|Orders]] (Les Ordres)'', a historical film drama directed by [[Michel Brault]], based on the events of the October Crisis and the effect that implementation of the ''War Measures Act'' had on people in Quebec,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreferencelibrary.ca/index.asp?layid=44&csid1=36&navid=46 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061215100531/http://www.filmreferencelibrary.ca/index.asp?layid=44&csid1=36&navid=46 |archive-date=December 15, 2006 |title=Les ordres |website=Canadian Film Encyclopedia |publisher=Film Reference Library |access-date=October 3, 2018}}</ref> was released in September 1974.
* Quebec director [[Pierre Falardeau]] shot in 1994 a movie titled ''[[Octobre]]'' which tells a version of the October Crisis based on a book by [[Francis Simard]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/22979ac |format=PDF |title=Pierre Falardeau tourne Octobre |first=Gabriel |last=Landry |magazine=Érudit |language=fr |issn=0707-9389 |issue=71 |date=March 1974 |pages=4–8}}</ref>
* ''[[Nô (film)|Nô]]'' is partially set in Montreal during the October Crisis and features fictional FLQ members planning a bombing.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nô | url=http://www.newyorkerfilms.com/nyf/t_elements/no/no_pk.PDF |publisher=New Yorker Films |access-date=March 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060326150407/http://www.newyorkerfilms.com/nyf/t_elements/no/no_pk.PDF |archive-date=March 26, 2006}}</ref>
* [[CBC Television]] produced a two-hour documentary program ''[[Black October (film)|Black October]]'' in 2000, in which the events of the crisis were discussed in great detail. The program featured interviews with former Canadian Prime Minister [[Pierre Elliott Trudeau]], former Quebec justice minister [[Jérôme Choquette]], and others.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbcshop.ca/CBC/shopping/product.aspx?Product_ID=ETDOC00043&Variant_ID=8009&lang=en-CA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005101050/http://www.cbcshop.ca/CBC/shopping/product.aspx?Product_ID=ETDOC00043&Variant_ID=8009&lang=en-CA |archive-date=October 5, 2007 |title=Black October – DVD |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=October 3, 2018}}</ref>
* ''La Belle province'', a 2001 documentary film by Ad Hoc Films Montreal / Tele-Quebec, portrays events leading to the death of Pierre Laporte.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://voir.ca/societe/2000/10/11/medias-la-belle-province/ |title=Médias: La Belle Province |first=Nathalie |last=Collard |date=October 11, 2000 |magazine=Voir |language=fr |access-date=October 3, 2018}}</ref>
* In ''L'Otage'', a 2004 documentary film by Ad Hoc Films Montreal / Tele-Quebec, Richard Cross, his wife and his daughter remember how they suffered during October 1970.
* ''Tout le monde en parlait'' «La crise d'Octobre I» [[Ici Radio-Canada Télé|Radio Canada]] 2010, is a documentary relating the events of October 1970.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/tout_le_monde_en_parlait/2010/Reportage.asp?idDoc=119989 |title=La crise d'Octobre (I): l'engrenage |date=September 23, 2010 |website=Tout le monde en parlait |language=fr-CA |publisher=Radio Canada |access-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003221136/http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/tout_le_monde_en_parlait/2010/Reportage.asp?idDoc=119989 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/tout_le_monde_en_parlait/2010/reportage.asp?idDoc=119992 |title=Crise d'octobre (II): le dénouement |date=September 24, 2010 |website=Tout le monde en parlait |publisher=Radio Canada |language=fr-CA |access-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003221103/http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/tout_le_monde_en_parlait/2010/reportage.asp?idDoc=119992 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* An eight-part [[miniseries]] about some of the incidents of the October Crisis titled ''[[October 1970 (film)|October 1970]]'' was released on October 12, 2006.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/flq-on-cbc-english-only/article18155884/ |title=FLQ on CBC |last=Armstrong |first=Jane |date=February 18, 2006 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |access-date=October 3, 2018}}</ref>
* ''Just Watch Me: A Trudeau Musical'', a 2015 play, was performed at the Vancouver Fringe Festival.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ubyssey.ca/culture/fringe-2015-just-watch-trudeau-musical/ |title=Fringe 2015: Just Watch Me: A Trudeau Musical |last=Duhatschek |first=Paula |date=August 31, 2015 |website=The Ubyssey |access-date=October 3, 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro]]

* [[Canada convoy protest]] - 2022 anti-vaccination protest that led Pierre Trudeau's son, Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]], to invoke the ''[[Emergencies Act]]'', the legal successor to the ''War Measures Act.''

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Bouthillier, Guy; Cloutier, Édouard (2010). ''Trudeau's Darkest Hour: War Measures in Time of Peace, October 1970''. Montréal: Baraka Books. {{ISBN|978-1-926824-04-8}}.
* {{cite book |last=Coté |first=Robert |title=Ma guerre contre le FLQ |year=2003 |location=Montreal |publisher=Trait d'union}} 
* D'Arcy, Jenish (2019). ''The Making of the October Crisis''. [[Doubleday Canada]].
* {{cite web |last=Demers |first=Robert |title=Memories of October 70 (2010)|url=https://sites.google.com/site/octobercrisis70/2357906543|access-date=May 24, 2013|archive-date=February 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224052840/https://sites.google.com/site/octobercrisis70/2357906543|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book |last=Denis |first=Charles |title=Robert Bourassa – La passion de la politique |year=2006 |publisher=Fides |location=Montreal}} 
* {{cite book |last=English |first=John |year=2009 |title =Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau: 1968–2000 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=yD_EGgNzYCkC&q=October%20Crisis&pg=PA73 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf Canada |isbn=978-0-676-97523-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Fournier |first=Louis |title=F.L.Q.: the anatomy of an underground movement |publisher=NC Press |year=1984 |isbn=9780919601918 |location=Toronto |oclc=11406935}}
* {{cite book |author1=Haggart, Ron |author2=Golden, Audrey |title=Rumours of War |year=1971 |publisher=New Press |location=Toronto}}
* {{cite book |last=Laurendeau |first=Marc |title=Les Québécois violents |year=1975 |publisher=Boreal |location=Montreal}} 
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140303204541/http://www.mcgill.ca/files/maritimelaw/C.doc "The Events Preliminary to the Crisis" in chronological order – 1960 to October 5, 1970]—McGill University
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130727120045/http://www.mcgill.ca/files/maritimelaw/D.doc "The October Crisis ''per se''" in chronological order – October 5 to December 29, 1970]—McGill University
* Munroe, H.D. "The October Crisis revisited: Counterterrorism as a strategic choice, political result, and organizational practice". ''Terrorism and Political Violence'' 21.2 (2009): 288–305.
* {{cite book |editor-last=Saywell |editor-first=John |title=Canadian Annual Review for 1970|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B7cWPwAACAAJ|year=1971|publisher=University of Toronto Press|pages=3–152|isbn=9780802001528}} Detailed factual coverage.
* [[William Tetley|Tetley, William]] (2006). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mE7ZLQHbT1sC&dq=October%20Crisis&pg=PP1 The October Crisis, 1970: An Insiders View]''. McGill-Queen's University Press. {{ISBN|0-7735-3118-1}}.

==External links==
* * [http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/civil-unrest/the-october-crisis-civil-liberties-suspended/topic---the-october-crisis-civil-liberties-suspended.html CBC Digital Archives – The October Crisis: Civil Liberties Suspended]
* [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/terrorism "Terrorism and Canada"] from ''[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]''
* [[BBC World Service]], [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p034qnr3 Witness: The October Crisis in Canada], an interview with former journalist [[Vince Carlin]] about his experience of the crisis, first broadcast on October 16, 2015.
{{October Crisis|state=expanded}}
{{Quebec sovereignty movement}}
{{MtlHist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:October Crisis| ]]
[[Category:Conflicts in Quebec]]
[[Category:First premiership of Pierre Trudeau]]
[[Category:1970 crimes in Canada]]
[[Category:1970 in Canadian law]]
[[Category:1970s in Montreal]]
[[Category:1970 in Quebec]]
[[Category:1970 murders in North America]]
[[Category:1970s murders in Canada]]
[[Category:Communist terrorism]]
[[Category:December 1970 in Canada]]
[[Category:History of Montreal]]
[[Category:Hostage taking]]
[[Category:Kidnappings in Canada]]
[[Category:Kidnapping in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Murder in Quebec]]
[[Category:October 1970 in Canada]]
[[Category:November 1970 in Canada]]
[[Category:Royal Canadian Mounted Police]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Canada in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in North America in 1970]]
[[Category:Anti-Anglophone sentiment in Quebec]]
[[Category:Front de libération du Québec]]
[[Category:Quebec nationalism]]