Front de libération du Québec
Encyclopedia
The Front de libération du Québec (FLQ; Quebec Liberation Front) was a left-wing Quebecois nationalist
and Marxist-Leninist
paramilitary group in Quebec
, Canada
. It was active between 1963 and 1970, and was regarded as a terrorist organization for its violent methods of action. It was responsible for over 160 violent incidents which killed eight people and injured many more, including the bombing of the Montreal Stock Exchange in 1969. These attacks culminated in 1970 with what is known as the October Crisis
, in which British Trade Commissioner James Cross
was kidnapped and Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte
was murdered by strangulation. Founded in the early 1960s, it supported the Quebec sovereignty movement
.
FLQ members practised propaganda of the deed
and issued declarations that called for a socialist insurrection against oppressors identified with "Anglo-Saxon
" imperialism
, the overthrow of the Quebec government, the independence of Quebec from Canada and the establishment of a French-speaking Quebecer "workers' society
". The organization was also influenced by other movements, such as those for the independence of former colonies such as Algeria
, Vietnam
and Cuba
.
, a Belgian
revolutionary. FLQ members Normand Roy and Michel Lambert received guerrilla training from the Palestine Liberation Organization
in Jordan
. The FLQ was a loose association operating as a clandestine cell system
. Various cells emerged over time: the Viger Cell founded by Robert Comeau, history professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal
; the Dieppe Cell; the Louis Riel
Cell; the Nelson Cell; the Saint-Denis Cell; the Liberation Cell
; and the Chénier Cell
. The last two of these cells were involved in what became known as the October Crisis
. From 1963 to 1970, the FLQ committed over 9000 violent actions, including bombings, bank hold-ups, kidnappings, at least three killings by FLQ bombs and two killings by gunfire. In 1966 Revolutionary Strategy and the Role of the Avant-Garde was prepared by the FLQ, outlining their long-term strategy of successive waves of robberies, violence, bombings, and kidnappings, culminating in revolution. The history of the FLQ is sometimes described as a series of "waves".
, some of whom wished for faster action. This group formed the "Réseau de Résistance", or Resistance Network. This group eventually broke up, forming the FLQ. The group was recruited among various sources, eventually recruiting one Mario Bachand. The FLQ commenced their attacks on March 7, 1963. Some of their more notable crimes include bombing a railway (by which then–Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker
had arranged to travel within the week).
By June 1, 1963, this original group had been arrested. In 1963, Gabriel Hudon and Raymond Villeneuve
were sentenced to 12 years in prison after their bomb killed Wilfred O'Neill, a watchman at Montreal's Canadian Army Recruitment Centre. Their targets also included English-owned businesses, banks, McGill University
, Loyola College
.
combined their "Popular Liberation Movement" with the FLQ in July 1965. This also combined several other pro-sovereignty groups. This may have led to a more socialist FLQ attitude. This new group robbed a New Democratic Party
office and a radio station for supplies, many of which were used to write La Cognée, the revolutionary paper published by the FLQ during the many years of activity. It translates to "The Hit". The 4th wave saw the increasing use of explosives, the production styles of which were sometimes detailed in La Cognée. An FLQ member, Jean Corbo, was killed by his own explosive, and a 64-year-old female office worker died during the FLQ bombing of the shoe factory Lagrenade.
By August 1966, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) had arrested many FLQ members. Gagnon and Vallières had fled to the United States, where they protested in front of the United Nations
and were later arrested. It was during his incarceration that Vallières wrote his book White Niggers of America. In September 1967, the pair were extradited to Canada.
In 1968, after various riots within Quebec and in Europe, a new group of FLQ was formed. Within a year, this group of Felquistes had exploded 52 bombs. Rather than La Cognée, they wrote La Victoire, or Victory. The various members of the group were arrested by May 2, 1969.
. After the bombing, police concluded that the bomb was placed in the toilet so inspectors could not find it.
1969 also saw many riots, including one against McGill University
. The RCMP had intercepted intelligence relating to the planned riots, and prevented excessive damage. This failed riot led to Mario Bachand leaving Canada, and another group of FLQ forming, which would become responsible for the October Crisis. This group, formed of Paul Rose, Jacques Rose, Francis Simard, and Nigel Hamer
became known as the "South Shore Gang".
During the police strike of 1969, the "Taxi Liberation Front", a creation of the "Popular Liberation Front", which was itself the creation of Jacques Lanctôt and Marc Carbonneau, killed a police officer. Jacques Lanctôt is credited by Michael McLoughlin, author of Last Stop, Paris: The Assassination of Mario Bachand and the Death of the FLQ, with writing the FLQ Manifesto during the prelude to the October Crisis.
The South Shore Gang bought a house, which they named "The Little Free Quebec", and it quickly became a den of the FLQ. Jacques Lanctôt was charged in connection with a failed FLQ kidnapping attempt of an Israeli diplomat, and in 1970, while a member of the FLQ, likely took refuge at "The Little Free Quebec". These new FLQ members bought two other houses, prepared their plans, and stocked sufficient equipment for their upcoming actions.
The group split into two over what plans should be taken, but were reunited during the crisis itself.
's book based on the Mitrokhin archive
, the USSR's KGB
probably established contact with the FLQ.
operation. A photocopy of the forged "CIA document" was "leaked" to the Montreal Star
in September 1971. The operation was so successful that Canada's prime minister believed that the CIA had conducted operations in Canada. The story was still quoted in the 1990s, even among academic authors.
kidnapped James Richard Cross, the British
Trade Commissioner as he was leaving his home for work. Shortly afterwards, on October 10, the Chénier Cell
kidnapped the Minister of Labour and Vice-Premier of Quebec
, Pierre Laporte
. Laporte was coming from a meeting with others, discussing the demands of the FLQ. After the demands were denied, Pierre Laporte was immediately killed by the FLQ (although it is still not known how the FLQ knew of the decision so quickly).
In the following days, FLQ leaders held meetings to increase public support for the cause. Consequently, a general strike involving students, teachers and professors resulted in the closure of most French-language secondary and post-secondary academic institutions. On October 15, 1970, more than 3,000 students attended a protest rally in favour of the FLQ. Demonstrations of public support influenced subsequent government actions.
On October 17, callers to a radio station announced that Laporte had been murdered and divulged the location of a map which led to the discovery of his body.
The FLQ released a list of demands for Cross's release.
The FLQ also stipulated how the above demands would be carried out:
As part of its Manifesto
, the FLQ stated: "In the coming year Bourassa (Quebec premier Robert Bourassa
) will have to face reality; 100,000 revolutionary workers, armed and organized."
Canada's Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, in his statement to the press during the October Crisis, admitted that the radicalism occurring in Quebec at this time had bred out of social unease due to imperfect legislation. “The government has pledged that it will introduce legislation which deals not only with the symptoms but with the social causes which often underlie or serve as an excuse for crime and disorder.” (Pierre Trudeau, CBC interview). However, despite this admission, Trudeau declared in his statement to the press that in order to deal with the unruly radicals or "revolutionaries," the federal government would invoke the War Measures Act
, the only time the country used these powers during peacetime.
Invoking the War Measures Act was a risky move for Trudeau because the act overrides fundamental rights and privileges enumerated in the Canadian Bill of Rights
; therefore, there was a strong possibility that Trudeau might have lost popular support among Quebec voters; however, this did not occur.
In an impromptu interview with Tim Ralfe and Peter Reilly on the steps of Parliament, Pierre Trudeau, responding to a question of how extreme his implementation of the War Measures Act would be, Trudeau answered, “Well, just watch me
.” This line has become a part of Trudeau’s legacy.
Early in December 1970, police discovered the location of the kidnappers holding James Cross. His release was negotiated and on December 3, 1970, five of the terrorists were granted their request for safe passage to Cuba
by the Government of Canada after approval by Fidel Castro
.
As a result of the invocation of the War Measures Act, civil liberties were suspended. By December 29, 1970, police had arrested 453 persons with suspected ties to the FLQ. Some detainees were released within hours, while others were held for up to 21 days. Several persons who were detained were initially denied access to legal counsel. Of the 453 people who were arrested, 435 were eventually released without ever being charged.
On December 13, 1970, Pierre Vallières announced in Le Journal that he had terminated his association with the FLQ. As well, Vallières renounced the use of terrorism as a means of political reform and instead advocated the use of standard political action.
In July 1980, police arrested and charged a sixth person in connection with the Cross kidnapping. Nigel Barry Hamer, a British
radical socialist and FLQ sympathizer, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 months in jail.
In late December, four weeks after, the kidnappers of James Cross were found. Paul Rose and the kidnappers and murderers of Pierre Laporte were found hiding in a country farmhouse. They were tried and convicted for kidnapping and murder.
The events of October 1970 contributed to the loss of support for violent means to attain Quebec independence, and increased support for a political party, the Parti Québécois
, which took power in 1976.
The support and political capacity of the FLQ changed drastically during the 1970s. The FLQ immediately lost public support after the October crisis and the murder of Laporte. The general public overwhelmingly supported the emergency powers and the presence of the military in Quebec. The Parti Québécois
warned young activists against joining “childish cells in a fruitless revolutionary adventurism which might cost them their future and even their lives.” Laporte’s murder marked a crossroad in the political history of the FLQ. It helped sway public opinion towards more conventional forms of political participation and drove up popular support for the Parti Québécois.
The rise of the PQ attracted both active and would-be participants away from the dangerous activities of the FLQ. In December 1971, Pierre Vallières emerged after three years in hiding to announce that he was joining the PQ. In justifying his decisions he said that the FLQ was a “shock group” whose continued activities would only play into the hands of the forces of repression against which they were no match. Those members of the FLQ who had fled began returning to Canada in late 1971 continuing to 1982 and most were given light sentences for their offences.
, the bronze statue of Sir John A. Macdonald
(Canada's first prime minister) was decapitated during the night, using heavy-duty equipment. The base of the headless statue bore the signature of the FLQ initialism the next morning, and the head was never found. It was cast again, and replaced the next year by federal authorities. In 2001, Rhéal Mathieu, a member who in 1967 was sentenced to nine years in prison for terrorist activities including murder, was convicted of the attempted firebombing of three Second Cup
coffee shops in Montreal. Mathieu targeted Canada's largest speciality coffee retailer because of the company's use of its incorporated English name "Second Cup". According to a spokesman for the company, the bombings resulted in customers being afraid to go to Second Cup coffee shops, resulting in a substantial loss of business. The company altered some of their signs to read, Les cafés Second Cup. For his offence, a judge sentenced Rhéal Mathieu to one month in jail in addition to the nine months he had already been held. He was also given a six-month sentence to be served concurrently for illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun
and a .38-calibre revolver. Shortly thereafter, seven McDonald's restaurants were firebombed. In 2006, vandals spraypainted "FLQ" on the side of the Midas Muffler shop in Moncton, New Brunswick. "FLQ" is sometimes spraypainted on buildings in areas frequented by anglophones, such as English-language schools in Quebec City.
Quebec nationalism
Quebec nationalism is a nationalist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec .-1534–1774:Canada was first a french colony. Jacques Cartier claimed it for France in 1534, and permanent French settlement began in 1608. It was part of New France, which constituted all French colonies in North America...
and Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
paramilitary group in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was active between 1963 and 1970, and was regarded as a terrorist organization for its violent methods of action. It was responsible for over 160 violent incidents which killed eight people and injured many more, including the bombing of the Montreal Stock Exchange in 1969. These attacks culminated in 1970 with what is known as the October Crisis
October Crisis
The October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
, in which British Trade Commissioner James Cross
James Cross
James Richard Cross, CMG was a British diplomat in Canada who was kidnapped by the Front de libération du Québec terrorist group during the October Crisis of October 1970....
was kidnapped and Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte
Pierre Laporte
Pierre Laporte was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician who was the Deputy Premier and Minister of Labour of the province of Quebec before being kidnapped and killed by members of the group Front de libération du Québec during the October Crisis. Mr...
was murdered by strangulation. Founded in the early 1960s, it supported the Quebec sovereignty movement
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
.
FLQ members practised propaganda of the deed
Propaganda of the deed
Propaganda of the deed is a concept that refers to specific political actions meant to be exemplary to others...
and issued declarations that called for a socialist insurrection against oppressors identified with "Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
" imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, the overthrow of the Quebec government, the independence of Quebec from Canada and the establishment of a French-speaking Quebecer "workers' society
Socialist state
A socialist state generally refers to any state constitutionally dedicated to the construction of a socialist society. It is closely related to the political strategy of "state socialism", a set of ideologies and policies that believe a socialist economy can be established through government...
". The organization was also influenced by other movements, such as those for the independence of former colonies such as Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
History
Members and sympathizers of the group were called "Felquistes" (fɛlˈkist), a word coined from the French pronunciation of the letters FLQ. Some of the members were organized and trained by Georges SchoetersGeorges Schoeters
George Schoeters was one of the founders and a leader of the Front de libération du Québec terrorist group in 1963. During World War II, Schoeter worked as a courier for the Belgian Resistance, thus beginning his clandestine career....
, a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
revolutionary. FLQ members Normand Roy and Michel Lambert received guerrilla training from the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. The FLQ was a loose association operating as a clandestine cell system
Clandestine cell system
A clandestine cell structure is a method for organizing a group of people in such a way that it can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization. Depending on the group's philosophy, its operational area, the communications technologies available, and the nature of the mission,...
. Various cells emerged over time: the Viger Cell founded by Robert Comeau, history professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Basic facts:The UQAM is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec , a public university system with other branches in Gatineau , Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, and...
; the Dieppe Cell; the Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
Cell; the Nelson Cell; the Saint-Denis Cell; the Liberation Cell
Liberation Cell
The Liberation Cell was a Montreal-based cell that was part of Front de libération du Québec terrorist group in Quebec whose members were responsible for a decade of bombings and armed robberies in the 1960s that led to what became known as the October Crisis.As part of a violent attempt to...
; and the Chénier Cell
Chenier Cell
The Chénier Cell was a Montreal-based cell of the Front de libération du Québec terrorist group in Quebec whose members were responsible for a decade of bombings and armed robberies in the 1960s that led to what became known as the October Crisis...
. The last two of these cells were involved in what became known as the October Crisis
October Crisis
The October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
. From 1963 to 1970, the FLQ committed over 9000 violent actions, including bombings, bank hold-ups, kidnappings, at least three killings by FLQ bombs and two killings by gunfire. In 1966 Revolutionary Strategy and the Role of the Avant-Garde was prepared by the FLQ, outlining their long-term strategy of successive waves of robberies, violence, bombings, and kidnappings, culminating in revolution. The history of the FLQ is sometimes described as a series of "waves".
The first wave
The first formation of the FLQ was composed of members of the Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance NationaleRassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale
The Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale was a political organization dedicated to the promotion of Quebec national independence from Canada.-History:...
, some of whom wished for faster action. This group formed the "Réseau de Résistance", or Resistance Network. This group eventually broke up, forming the FLQ. The group was recruited among various sources, eventually recruiting one Mario Bachand. The FLQ commenced their attacks on March 7, 1963. Some of their more notable crimes include bombing a railway (by which then–Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
had arranged to travel within the week).
By June 1, 1963, this original group had been arrested. In 1963, Gabriel Hudon and Raymond Villeneuve
Raymond Villeneuve
Raymond Villeneuve is a Canadian political activist.Villeneuve remained out of the spotlight as he was volunteering for the Parti Québécois from 1988 until the 1995 referendum...
were sentenced to 12 years in prison after their bomb killed Wilfred O'Neill, a watchman at Montreal's Canadian Army Recruitment Centre. Their targets also included English-owned businesses, banks, McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, Loyola College
Loyola College (Montreal)
Loyola College was a Jesuit college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It ceased to exist when it was incorporated into Concordia University in 1974. A portion of the original College remains as a separate entity called Loyola High School....
.
The second wave
A group of six individuals, two of whom were brothers of FLQ members arrested in 1963 (Robert Hudon and Jean Gagnon), commenced a series of crimes in Quebec over a period between September 26, 1963, and April 9, 1964. They called themselves the "Quebec Liberation Army" (L’Armée de Libération du Québec), and stole approximately C$100,000 (approx. C$534,000 when adjusted for inflation as of March 2007) in goods and money. Most of these individuals were also released by 1967.The third wave
A larger group of revolutionaries became known as the "Revolutionary Army of Quebec" (L’Armée Révolutionnaire du Québec). This group attempted to focus on training, particularly in St. Boniface. A botched gun robbery August 29, 1964 resulted in two deaths. Cyr Delisle, Gilles Brunet, Marcel Tardif, François Schirm, and Edmond Guenette, the five members arrested in connection with the deaths of Leslie MacWilliams and Alfred Pinisch, workers at the store, were sentenced to life in prison. A number of other members of the FLQ were arrested as well.The fourth wave
Charles Gagnon and Pierre VallièresPierre Vallières
Pierre Vallières , was a Québécois journalist, and writer. He was considered an intellectual leader of the Front de libération du Québec ....
combined their "Popular Liberation Movement" with the FLQ in July 1965. This also combined several other pro-sovereignty groups. This may have led to a more socialist FLQ attitude. This new group robbed a New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
office and a radio station for supplies, many of which were used to write La Cognée, the revolutionary paper published by the FLQ during the many years of activity. It translates to "The Hit". The 4th wave saw the increasing use of explosives, the production styles of which were sometimes detailed in La Cognée. An FLQ member, Jean Corbo, was killed by his own explosive, and a 64-year-old female office worker died during the FLQ bombing of the shoe factory Lagrenade.
By August 1966, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) had arrested many FLQ members. Gagnon and Vallières had fled to the United States, where they protested in front of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and were later arrested. It was during his incarceration that Vallières wrote his book White Niggers of America. In September 1967, the pair were extradited to Canada.
In 1968, after various riots within Quebec and in Europe, a new group of FLQ was formed. Within a year, this group of Felquistes had exploded 52 bombs. Rather than La Cognée, they wrote La Victoire, or Victory. The various members of the group were arrested by May 2, 1969.
Various attacks and the 6th wave
On February 13, 1969, the Front de libération du Québec set off a powerful bomb that ripped through the Montreal Stock Exchange causing massive destruction and seriously injuring 27 people. After another series of bombings, on September 28, 1969, they bombed the home of Montreal mayor Jean DrapeauJean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...
. After the bombing, police concluded that the bomb was placed in the toilet so inspectors could not find it.
1969 also saw many riots, including one against McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. The RCMP had intercepted intelligence relating to the planned riots, and prevented excessive damage. This failed riot led to Mario Bachand leaving Canada, and another group of FLQ forming, which would become responsible for the October Crisis. This group, formed of Paul Rose, Jacques Rose, Francis Simard, and Nigel Hamer
Nigel Hamer
Nigel Barry Hamer was a key member of the Front de libération du Québec . He was a student at McGill University when he joined the Liberation Cell of the terrorist group and participated in the October Crisis of 1970. He actively participated in the hostage-taking of the British Trade Commissioner...
became known as the "South Shore Gang".
During the police strike of 1969, the "Taxi Liberation Front", a creation of the "Popular Liberation Front", which was itself the creation of Jacques Lanctôt and Marc Carbonneau, killed a police officer. Jacques Lanctôt is credited by Michael McLoughlin, author of Last Stop, Paris: The Assassination of Mario Bachand and the Death of the FLQ, with writing the FLQ Manifesto during the prelude to the October Crisis.
The South Shore Gang bought a house, which they named "The Little Free Quebec", and it quickly became a den of the FLQ. Jacques Lanctôt was charged in connection with a failed FLQ kidnapping attempt of an Israeli diplomat, and in 1970, while a member of the FLQ, likely took refuge at "The Little Free Quebec". These new FLQ members bought two other houses, prepared their plans, and stocked sufficient equipment for their upcoming actions.
The group split into two over what plans should be taken, but were reunited during the crisis itself.
KGB
Contacts
According to Christopher Andrew's and Vasili MitrokhinVasili Mitrokhin
Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin was a Major and senior archivist for the Soviet Union's foreign intelligence service, the First Chief Directorate of the KGB, and co-author with Christopher Andrew of The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West, a massive account of Soviet intelligence...
's book based on the Mitrokhin archive
Mitrokhin Archive
The Mitrokhin Archive is a collection of notes made secretly by KGB Major Vasili Mitrokhin during his thirty years as a KGB archivist in the foreign intelligence service and the First Chief Directorate...
, the USSR's KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
probably established contact with the FLQ.
Disinformation about the FLQ
The KGB was concerned that the FLQ's terrorist attacks could be linked to the Soviet Union. It designed a disinformation campaign and forged documents to portray the FLQ as a CIA false flagFalse flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
operation. A photocopy of the forged "CIA document" was "leaked" to the Montreal Star
Montreal Star
The Montreal Star was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It folded in 1979 following an eight-month pressmen's strike....
in September 1971. The operation was so successful that Canada's prime minister believed that the CIA had conducted operations in Canada. The story was still quoted in the 1990s, even among academic authors.
October crisis
On October 5, 1970, members of the FLQ's Liberation cellLiberation Cell
The Liberation Cell was a Montreal-based cell that was part of Front de libération du Québec terrorist group in Quebec whose members were responsible for a decade of bombings and armed robberies in the 1960s that led to what became known as the October Crisis.As part of a violent attempt to...
kidnapped James Richard Cross, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Trade Commissioner as he was leaving his home for work. Shortly afterwards, on October 10, the Chénier Cell
Chenier Cell
The Chénier Cell was a Montreal-based cell of the Front de libération du Québec terrorist group in Quebec whose members were responsible for a decade of bombings and armed robberies in the 1960s that led to what became known as the October Crisis...
kidnapped the Minister of Labour and Vice-Premier of Quebec
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
, Pierre Laporte
Pierre Laporte
Pierre Laporte was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician who was the Deputy Premier and Minister of Labour of the province of Quebec before being kidnapped and killed by members of the group Front de libération du Québec during the October Crisis. Mr...
. Laporte was coming from a meeting with others, discussing the demands of the FLQ. After the demands were denied, Pierre Laporte was immediately killed by the FLQ (although it is still not known how the FLQ knew of the decision so quickly).
In the following days, FLQ leaders held meetings to increase public support for the cause. Consequently, a general strike involving students, teachers and professors resulted in the closure of most French-language secondary and post-secondary academic institutions. On October 15, 1970, more than 3,000 students attended a protest rally in favour of the FLQ. Demonstrations of public support influenced subsequent government actions.
On October 17, callers to a radio station announced that Laporte had been murdered and divulged the location of a map which led to the discovery of his body.
The FLQ released a list of demands for Cross's release.
- the release of 23 "political prisoners" (including: Cyriaque Delisle, Edmond Guenette and François Schirm, Serge Demers, Marcel Faulkner, Gérard Laquerre, Robert Lévesque, Réal Mathieu, and Claude Simard; Pierre-Paul Geoffroy, Michel Loriot, Pierre Demers, Gabriel Hudon, Robert Hudon, Marc-André Gagné, François Lanctôt, Claude Morency, and André Roy; Pierre Boucher and André Ouellette).
- the following FLQ members, André Lessard, Pierre Marcil, and Réjean Tremblay, who were out on bail at the time of the kidnappings, would be allowed to leave Quebec if they wanted.
- all family members of the "political prisoners" and those out on bail would be able to join them outside of Quebec.
- $500,000 in gold
- the broadcast and publication of the FLQ Manifesto
- the publication of the name of a police informant
- a Helicopter to take the kidnappers to CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
or AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and while doing so they would be accompanied by their lawyers. - the rehiring of about 450 Lapalme postal workers who had been laid off because of their support of the FLQ
- the cessation of all police search activities
The FLQ also stipulated how the above demands would be carried out:
- the prisoners were to be taken to the Montreal airport and supplied a copy of the FLQ Manifesto. They were to be allowed to communicate with each other and become familiar with the Manifesto.
- they were not to be dealt with in a harsh or brutal manner.
- they must be able to communicate with their lawyers to discuss the best course of action, whether to leave Quebec or not. As well, these lawyers must receive passage back to Quebec.
As part of its Manifesto
FLQ Manifesto
The FLQ Manifesto was a key document of the terrorist group the Front de libération du Québec. On 8 October 1970, during the October Crisis, it was broadcast by CBC/Radio-Canada television as one of many demands required for the release of kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross.-External...
, the FLQ stated: "In the coming year Bourassa (Quebec premier Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa
Jean-Robert Bourassa, was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 22nd Premier of Quebec in two different mandates, first from May 12, 1970, to November 25, 1976, and then from December 12, 1985, to January 11, 1994, serving a total of just under 15 years as Provincial Premier.-Early...
) will have to face reality; 100,000 revolutionary workers, armed and organized."
Canada's Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, in his statement to the press during the October Crisis, admitted that the radicalism occurring in Quebec at this time had bred out of social unease due to imperfect legislation. “The government has pledged that it will introduce legislation which deals not only with the symptoms but with the social causes which often underlie or serve as an excuse for crime and disorder.” (Pierre Trudeau, CBC interview). However, despite this admission, Trudeau declared in his statement to the press that in order to deal with the unruly radicals or "revolutionaries," the federal government would invoke the War Measures Act
War Measures Act
The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers in the event of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended"...
, the only time the country used these powers during peacetime.
Invoking the War Measures Act was a risky move for Trudeau because the act overrides fundamental rights and privileges enumerated in the Canadian Bill of Rights
Canadian Bill of Rights
The Canadian Bill of Rights is a federal statute and bill of rights enacted by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's government on August 10, 1960. It provides Canadians with certain quasi-constitutional rights in relation to other federal statutes...
; therefore, there was a strong possibility that Trudeau might have lost popular support among Quebec voters; however, this did not occur.
In an impromptu interview with Tim Ralfe and Peter Reilly on the steps of Parliament, Pierre Trudeau, responding to a question of how extreme his implementation of the War Measures Act would be, Trudeau answered, “Well, just watch me
Just watch me
"Just watch me" is a phrase made famous by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on October 13, 1970, during the October crisis. The term is still regularly used in Canadian political discussion....
.” This line has become a part of Trudeau’s legacy.
Early in December 1970, police discovered the location of the kidnappers holding James Cross. His release was negotiated and on December 3, 1970, five of the terrorists were granted their request for safe passage to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
by the Government of Canada after approval by Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
.
As a result of the invocation of the War Measures Act, civil liberties were suspended. By December 29, 1970, police had arrested 453 persons with suspected ties to the FLQ. Some detainees were released within hours, while others were held for up to 21 days. Several persons who were detained were initially denied access to legal counsel. Of the 453 people who were arrested, 435 were eventually released without ever being charged.
On December 13, 1970, Pierre Vallières announced in Le Journal that he had terminated his association with the FLQ. As well, Vallières renounced the use of terrorism as a means of political reform and instead advocated the use of standard political action.
In July 1980, police arrested and charged a sixth person in connection with the Cross kidnapping. Nigel Barry Hamer, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
radical socialist and FLQ sympathizer, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 months in jail.
In late December, four weeks after, the kidnappers of James Cross were found. Paul Rose and the kidnappers and murderers of Pierre Laporte were found hiding in a country farmhouse. They were tried and convicted for kidnapping and murder.
The events of October 1970 contributed to the loss of support for violent means to attain Quebec independence, and increased support for a political party, the Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
, which took power in 1976.
Decline
The decline of the FLQ can be attributed both to the effect that police deterrence had on the organization and also to flagging public support. By 1971, the Montreal Police antiterrorist unit had highly placed informants within the FLQ organization and on October 4 and 5 1971, the first anniversary of the October Crisis, the Montreal Police arrested four FLQ members. The antiterrorism unit was able to arrest nearly two dozen FLQ operatives in 13 months. The waves of arrests undoubtedly had a deterring effect on any would-be FLQ supporters.The support and political capacity of the FLQ changed drastically during the 1970s. The FLQ immediately lost public support after the October crisis and the murder of Laporte. The general public overwhelmingly supported the emergency powers and the presence of the military in Quebec. The Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
warned young activists against joining “childish cells in a fruitless revolutionary adventurism which might cost them their future and even their lives.” Laporte’s murder marked a crossroad in the political history of the FLQ. It helped sway public opinion towards more conventional forms of political participation and drove up popular support for the Parti Québécois.
The rise of the PQ attracted both active and would-be participants away from the dangerous activities of the FLQ. In December 1971, Pierre Vallières emerged after three years in hiding to announce that he was joining the PQ. In justifying his decisions he said that the FLQ was a “shock group” whose continued activities would only play into the hands of the forces of repression against which they were no match. Those members of the FLQ who had fled began returning to Canada in late 1971 continuing to 1982 and most were given light sentences for their offences.
Subsequent activities
In 1993, in Montreal's Dominion Square, next to the Queen Elizabeth HotelQueen Elizabeth Hotel
The Queen Elizabeth Hotel is a grand hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Completed in 1958, it was built by the Canadian National Railway, but was later sold to Canadian Pacific Hotels, now Fairmont Hotels and Resorts...
, the bronze statue of Sir John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
(Canada's first prime minister) was decapitated during the night, using heavy-duty equipment. The base of the headless statue bore the signature of the FLQ initialism the next morning, and the head was never found. It was cast again, and replaced the next year by federal authorities. In 2001, Rhéal Mathieu, a member who in 1967 was sentenced to nine years in prison for terrorist activities including murder, was convicted of the attempted firebombing of three Second Cup
Second Cup
Second Cup is Canada's largest Canadian-based specialty coffee retailer, operating more than 360 cafés across Canada. Its headquarters are in Mississauga, Ontario. Founded in 1975 by Tom Culligan and Frank O'Dea, Culligan eventually purchased O'Dea's shares. After building it to a 150-store chain,...
coffee shops in Montreal. Mathieu targeted Canada's largest speciality coffee retailer because of the company's use of its incorporated English name "Second Cup". According to a spokesman for the company, the bombings resulted in customers being afraid to go to Second Cup coffee shops, resulting in a substantial loss of business. The company altered some of their signs to read, Les cafés Second Cup. For his offence, a judge sentenced Rhéal Mathieu to one month in jail in addition to the nine months he had already been held. He was also given a six-month sentence to be served concurrently for illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun
Sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun also called a sawn-off shotgun and a short-barreled shotgun , is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or absent stock....
and a .38-calibre revolver. Shortly thereafter, seven McDonald's restaurants were firebombed. In 2006, vandals spraypainted "FLQ" on the side of the Midas Muffler shop in Moncton, New Brunswick. "FLQ" is sometimes spraypainted on buildings in areas frequented by anglophones, such as English-language schools in Quebec City.
In popular culture
- In the 1988 action film Die HardDie HardDie Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
, the main villain Hans Gruber (Alan RickmanAlan RickmanAlan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
) makes false demands to the U.S. Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
over the phone to release certain radical groups from prison. One of the groups he mentions is the (fictional) Liberté du Québec. - Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character NorthstarNorthstarNorthstar is a fictional character, a superhero who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the twin brother of Aurora. Through his mutation, Northstar gains superhuman powers, which he uses for the betterment of society...
was a member of the Front de libération du Québec in his youth. - In the book Night Probe! by Clive CusslerClive CusslerClive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
, a group called the "Free Quebec Society" resembles the FLQ. - The song "Je reviendrai à Montréal" by Quebec singer Robert CharleboisRobert CharleboisRobert Charlebois, OC, OQ is a Quebec author, composer, musician, performer and actor. He is an important figure in French language song....
is said to have been written following a trip he had taken to Cuba to meet FLQ members. - The book Infinite JestInfinite JestInfinite Jest is a 1996 novel by David Foster Wallace. The lengthy and complex work takes place in a semi-parodic future version of North America, and touches on tennis, substance addiction and recovery programs, depression, child abuse, family relationships, advertising and popular entertainment,...
by David Foster WallaceDavid Foster WallaceDavid Foster Wallace was an American author of novels, essays, and short stories, and a professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California...
mentions a semi-fictionalized view of the FLQ numerous times. - In the book The Eiger SanctionThe Eiger SanctionThe Eiger Sanction is a 1972 thriller novel by Rodney William Whitaker, written under the pseudonym Trevanian. The story was made into a film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood in 1975.Whitaker wrote a sequel entitled The Loo Sanction....
by TrevanianTrevanianRodney William Whitaker was an American film scholar and writer who wrote several successful novels under the pen name Trevanian. Whitaker also published works as Nicholas Seare, Beñat Le Cagot and Edoard Moran...
Dr. Hemlock jokes about a boy playing guns as perpetrating "an act of FLQ terrorism". - The biographical film Mesrine has the titular character joining forces with members of the group during his period in Canada.
- In the 1980 spy thriller novel The Bourne Identity by Robert LudlumRobert LudlumRobert Ludlum was an American author of 23 thriller novels. The number of his books in print is estimated between 290–500 million copies. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.-Life and...
, the narrator refers to different paramilitary groups that he cites as terrorist groups involved with the main villain of the book and, among others, he lists the FLQ.
See also
- List of conflicts in Canada
- Timeline of the Front de libération du Québec
- October CrisisOctober CrisisThe October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
- List of terrorist attacks in Canada
- October 1970 (film)October 1970 (film)October 1970 is an eight-part made-for-television series that played on Canadian television in October and November 2006. It is a dramatization of the actual events surrounding the October Crisis in the province of Quebec, Canada when members of the nationalist terrorist group the Front de...
- On est au cotonOn est au cotonOn est au coton is a documentary film directed by Denys Arcand in 1970, about the conditions of workers in the textile industry in Quebec.-Suppression:...
- The Revolution ScriptThe Revolution ScriptThe Revolution Script is a fictionalised account by Northern Irish-Canadian novelist Brian Moore of the kidnapping by the Quebec Liberation Front of James Cross,the Senior British Trade Commissioner in Montreal on October 5, 1970 and the murder, a few days later, of Pierre Laporte, Minister of...
(novel by Brian MooreBrian Moore (novelist)Brian Moore was a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter who emigrated to Canada and later lived in the United States. He was acclaimed for the descriptions in his novels of life in Northern Ireland after the Second World War, in particular his explorations of the inter-communal divisions of The...
) - PROFUNCPROFUNCPROFUNC , which stands for "PROminent FUNCtionaries of the communist party", was a Government of Canada top secret plan to identify and intern Canadian communists and crypto-communists during the height of the Cold War.-History:...
External links
- "The Events Preliminary to the Crisis" in chronological order - 1960 to 5 October 1970
- “The October Crisis per se" in chronological order - 5 October to 29 December 1970
- (2000) Pierre Elliot Trudeau, CBC Radio interview
- English translation of the FLQ Manifesto
- Russian site about FLQ
- FLQ and PLO Jordan Guerrilla training camps