Next June 22 will mark the 250the anniversary of the royal assent of the Quebec Act of 1774, a law passed by the British Parliament. As we will soon commemorate the 250th anniversary of this law, it is appropriate to reflect on the significance of this defining event in our history.
A perilous context for the Quebec nation
Let us first recall the context in which the Canadians – a term which then designated the French-speaking population of the St. Lawrence Valley – found themselves in the mid-18th century.e century. Recently conquered by the British Crown, the first ancestors of the Quebec nation then lived under the regime of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which aimed to assimilate them into the English-speaking population by imposing on them English laws and customs.
In fact, the British authorities, starting with Governors Murray and Carleton, quickly noted that the province could not be administered effectively without the participation of the Canadian majority. Excluded from public office, our ancestors were dissatisfied in many respects with the policies imposed by British leaders. Canadians have also sent petitions to London demanding in particular respect for their language and their legal tradition based on French civil law.
The regime established by the Royal Proclamation quickly demonstrated its limits: a constitutional change was necessary, for both political and geopolitical reasons. Thus, in adopting the Quebec Act, the British authorities had two objectives. They not only sought to respond to the recriminations of Canadians against the regime, they also wanted to discourage them from joining the rebellion which was then raging in the thirteen colonies located to the south, colonies which would officially declare their independence two years later. late, July 4, 1776.
A distinct and unique nation
The Quebec Act is therefore a decisive historical milestone and its impact is still felt today. During the work surrounding the drafting of the Act, Governor Carleton had warned London that Quebec was “a province completely different from the others, and its particular circumstances cannot be ignored…”. This lucid observation led the British authorities to abandon the assimilationist approach that had guided them until then. The resulting new Constitution can therefore be considered as one of the first gestures of recognition of the existence, in North America, of a distinct and unique nation, among other things by its language, its identity and its culture: the Quebec nation.
Let us also emphasize that several elements of this law remain, even today, at the heart of Quebec identity. For example, by reestablishing French civil law, the Quebec Act made it possible to preserve our civil law tradition. By the same token, Canadians were implicitly granted the right to express themselves in French before the courts of justice, a right which gradually developed to form our contemporary linguistic regime. Finally, although the seigneurial regime has not been in force in Quebec for a long time, its preservation under the Act has nevertheless contributed to lastingly shaping the Quebec territory.
The Quebec Act and then American independence prepared the Constitutional Act of 1791, allowing the creation of our first legislative assembly and the adoption of our first fundamental laws.
A call for the affirmation of Quebec
In commemorating the Quebec Act, what should we remember from it? First of all, that the sustainability and development of a French-speaking Quebec nation in North America are not the result of chance. At each stage of its history, the Quebec nation has been confronted with challenges – political, geopolitical or socio-economic – which called into question its sustainability.
Secondly, at each stage of its history, the Quebec nation has demonstrated creativity, resilience and combativeness. By fighting for the promotion of their fundamental interests, for the defense of their rights and the recognition of their identity, Quebecers at the end of the 18th centurye century made possible the development of a proud, modern and unifying Quebec nation.
Finally, the federal government’s many centralizing initiatives and current immigration policies remind us that the challenges we have faced since day one have certainly not gone away. Thus, the sustainability and development of the Quebec nation are a collective issue as fundamental today as it was 250 years ago. It is therefore up to us, Quebecers, to demonstrate determination and boldness so that our nation continues to flourish and prosper.